A Flurry of Sports Betting Bills Could Change New York’s Gaming Landscape
When the New York State Legislature convenes on January 7, 2026, there will be several bills concerning the nation’s most lucrative sports betting market. Perhaps the most significant is a measure to ban live betting in the Empire State.
Is Live Betting Dead in New York?
Industry experts will attest that live betting is a critical component to the online sportsbooks’ bottom line. In fact, it has gained so much popularity that BetVision, Genius Sports’ same-screen stream-and-bet product, reported that live betting represented a whopping 74% of their total handle through the first nine weeks of the football season.
But the landscape is getting more challenging for mobile sports betting platforms with steadily rising tax rates by legislatures eager to carve out more of their profits and tightening advertising restrictions, among others.
The latest incursion on the sportsbooks’ revenue stream is a bill in New York that proposes to ban in-game, or live, betting on sporting events.
Assembly Bill A9343 is a measure sponsored by Assembly member Linda Rosenthal to prohibit live betting on sports, a cash cow for sportsbooks. The bill is likely a reaction to the recent sports betting scandals that have stolen the headlines over the past year. She believes that it will decrease any nefarious manipulation by compromised athletes.
“New York State has an obligation to protect consumers and address concerning public health trends. As such, this legislation will prohibit mobile sports betting licensees, operators, and casinos from accepting in-play wagers in New York State,” Rosenthal wrote in her legislative justification for the bill.
Problem Gambling Resources
Problem gambling and the resources available to those who seek help have been available through the sports betting platforms in New York.
However, Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner has made it clear that getting help through these resources isn’t enough and is sponsoring a bill in the form of A.9146 that would mandate all sports betting platforms to direct any customer seeking help to the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS).
She fears that the counseling resources may be financially compromised by those sportsbooks with which they collaborate. Therefore, Woerner believes that directing customers in search of help to a state agency that works independently with these services is more likely to bring about the desired treatment.
In another bill that would be detrimental to the financial health of the sportsbooks but would be a boon for their customers, A9125, introduced by Assembly member Alex Bores, calls for sportsbooks to be “prohibited from limiting the size or frequency of deposits or wagers” if a customer “obtains financial benefit” from betting.
These are merely a smattering of bills that are expected to be discussed in the next legislative session, but whether they will be approved is uncertain at this time.
