New York Sen. Joe Addabbo has introduced a bill that would expand the number of mobile sportsbooks in the state and trigger lower tax rates for operators, two things he and Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow have long desired.
Addabbo, the chairman of the Senate's Racing, Gaming, and Wagering Committee, filed SB 1962 late Tuesday. It would expand the number of sports betting operators from nine to 14 by New Year's Day of 2024 and to 16 by the following Jan. 1. Based on the bill's sliding scale, the New York tax rate on gross gaming revenue (GGR) would drop from 51% to 35% with 14 operators and to 25% with 15 or more.
The bill also would allow sportsbooks to deduct promotional bets from the GGR they report to the state for tax purposes, though it doubles the license fee to $50 million from the amount paid by the original nine sportsbooks: FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars Sportsbook, BetMGM, WynnBET, PointsBet, BetRivers, Resorts World, and Bally Bet.
“While there has been an exciting start to mobile sports wagering in New York, there is still room for improvement,” Addabbo told legal analyst Daniel Wallach. “This legislation would direct the gaming commission to issue additional [OSB] licenses so that we can continue to grow and improve the market.”