We’re now over six months into New York legalizing online sports betting, and despite a turbulent month where betting handles have reached all-time lows, the Empire State remains a record breaker.
Both in terms of bets handled and tax revenue generated, New York has come out on top compared to other states. The question is what comes next? Where does New York go from here in order to continue growing this booming new market and trying to fix the issue of the seasonal slowdown?
Well, New York Senator, Joe Addabbo, has been speaking at the SBC North America summit this week, discussing New York’s next intentions and the biggest challenges that not just New York faces, but the whole of the US.
What is the SBC Summit North America?
SBC is a news, media, and events company that operates in the sports betting market, aiming to work with leaders in the market to create a better environment for both businesses and customers. The SBC Summit North America was set up to become the leading event for sports betting and iGaming in North America, acting as both a conference for speakers and a tradeshow to allow people to network.
This year’s event, which took place in New Jersey over the weekend of July 12-14th, saw over 250+ expert speakers, and 40+ conference sessions with an attendance of over 3000 industry professionals.
It isn’t just for sports betting companies in North America, though. It’s also an opportunity for sports betting companies from all over the world to attend to share their knowledge and experiences in the industry. The aim is to help make places like New York a better sports betting experience for all involved.
What did Joe Addabbo Speak About at the Summit?
One of the key focuses at the SBC Summit North America was to discuss the issue of problem gambling, and how to encourage responsible gaming. Joe Addabbo explained how legalizing sports betting actually helped with these issues because now there is control over the market whereas before, people were gambling illegally and people falling into the trap of problem gambling couldn’t be identified:
Before [legalization], if you wanted to help someone with addiction, you really couldn’t because you didn’t know who they were – New York Senator, Joe Addabbo
However, it is still no easy task to tackle the issue, because although now people with issues can be identified, Addabbo claims there is still a job to do. He stated, We have to make people aware that we have programs out there to address addiction”.
NY Sen. Joe Addabbo, the architect of NY sports gambling, says the next step is legalizing iGaming in next year’s budget.
— Sam McQuillan (@sam_mcquill) July 13, 2022
Adds that raising awareness for problem gambling is biggest challenge.
“We have to make people aware that we have programs out there to address addiction.” pic.twitter.com/LTy2eiEJJe
New York is going a long way to tackle the issue though, as we discussed a while back when it was announced there was potential to set up a new Gambling Harms Body funded by tax revenues generated by sports betting operators in New York.
Responsible gambling wasn’t the only hot topic at the event though, as Addabbo, who is considered one of the architects of legalizing gambling in New York, explained the next steps in the plans for the state. His intentions are to legalize iGaming although this won’t be put forward until next year’s budget.
This means they are likely going to review the entire year of activity in New York for sports betting to not only look at the positives but also tackle the issues raised so that when iGaming is legalized, it is done so with more solid foundations and protections in place for customers. Assessing how the issue of problem gambling has risen in the time since its legalization, which avenues have helped tackle the problem, and what more can be done.
It’s now clear what the intentions are for the gambling industry in New York, and how they look to continue to grow and expand into new markets, whilst also ensuring that everything is done in the safest possible ways.
