ATLANTIC CITY — New York state is trying again to authorize internet gambling, and fully expects to dominate an industry that has been growing by leaps and bounds in New Jersey.
Although its impact on New Jersey’s thriving internet gambling market is likely to be minimal, the move indicates how seriously New York is pushing its own gambling expansion, including the opening of three physical casinos in or near New York City in the next few years that could have a serious impact on Atlantic City.
Earlier this week, New York state Sen. Joseph Addabbo introduced a bill authorizing internet gambling in his state. It was the third time he has done so; previous legislation died without coming to a full vote.
“In its first year, New York quickly became the leading mobile sports betting market in the nation,” the bill reads. “Similarly, if authorized, New York would quickly become the national leader in online casino gaming, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue annually for the state.”
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Online gambling revenue would be taxed at 30.5%, more than twice the rate at which New Jersey taxes its own online bets.
While the bill would limit internet gambling only to people physically present in New York state — a restriction other states with online gambling also share — at least some of those people are currently crossing state lines to gamble legally in New Jersey, much as they did before mobile sports betting was approved in New York.
The amount of money New Jersey’s $2.4 billion online betting market might lose from next-door competition is unclear.
But Jane Bokunewicz, director of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism at Stockton University, which studies the Atlantic City gambling market, predicted it would not be much.
“Internet gaming is a product of convenience,” she said. “The legalization of internet gaming in neighboring states is only a threat to New Jersey if a significant number of people are crossing state lines in order to participate.”
She said when neighboring Pennsylvania began offering internet gambling in 2017, a little more than three years after New Jersey did, there was not a big impact on New Jersey’s online market.
“This suggests that there weren’t a significant number of patrons crossing into New Jersey from Pennsylvania to play,” Bokunewicz said. “If New York follows a similar pattern, as is likely, legalization of internet gaming in New York will similarly be a non-issue.”
And there is little reason for New Jerseyans to cross into New York to gamble when it’s already legal in their home state.
A spokesperson for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the governor “will review the legislation.”
But it is the latest indication that New York’s gambling ambitions pose a serious threat to Atlantic City’s nine casinos, and the economic activity and tax revenue they generate.
New York is expected to award up to three casino licenses by the end of this year, with the facilities being built and opened within a few years after that.
