Bill proposed in NY to increase responsible gambling requirements 

A bill has been introduced in New York seeking to increase operators’ responsible gambling requirements, specifically in relation to advertising. 

Lery Comrie, the New York State Senator who represents District 14 and Luis R. Sepúlveda who represents District 32 have introduced Senate Bill 1550 which, if passed, would require all advertisements for gambling and sports betting to include warnings about potential harmful and addictive effects of gambling. 

The Bill summary also requires: “the state gaming commission to cooperate with the commissioner of addiction services and supports to ensure that all advertisements for gaming activity state a problem gambling hotline number.” 

No date has yet been set for a vote on the bill, but should it be passed operators would have 16 days to comply and adjust advertising accordingly. 

What are the responsible gambling requirements elsewhere? 

The move from New York Senators comes as the quickfire sportsbook rollout across the United States adjusts regulation to fall more in line with some of the more mature regulated markets elsewhere in the world. 

The United Kingdom is undergoing a complete Gambling Act Review, and other European countries such as the Netherlands and Germany have undergone complete relicensing, in part to adjust and address problem gambling concerns particularly driven by the enforced move to digital due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The bill is hardly prohibitive, and is standard advertising practice in gambling across jurisdictions which allow it so it’s unlikely it would have a large impact on operators turnover and revenue.

New York’s huge 51% tax on GGR for sports betting means the state continues to lead the way in tax receipts from the new activity. In the week ending 8th January, mobile sports betting handle was $401m, with GGR $29.9m. 

Promotional activity since the initial launch of mobile sports betting will have likely decreased after the initial battle for market share, but around events such as March Madness and Super Bowl will always see spikes.