Senator Joseph Addabbo, Jr. says that New York State can’t wait to address the rise of prediction markets.
The Democratic representative of Queens has wasted no time in responding to the rapid spread of outcome betting across America, backing a new bill to further regulate the biggest operators.
Addabbo says state needs to address prediction markets
Assembly Bill NY 9251 (AB 9251) was introduced by Assemblyman Clyde Vanel on November 7, 2025, in the New York State Senate, and Addabbo has said he’s consulting with his legal counsel before backing the bill.
Addabbo said to DeFi Rate via phone interview, “We could have waited on the sidelines to see what the CFTC would do. I don’t do that.
“It does need a Senate sponsor. If we feel it’s something that’s A) within our jurisdiction and B) it would matter — like it would make some sense to do – I’ll talk to my friend [Assemblyman Vanel] to see if I can carry it in the Senate.”
We covered the bill tabled by Vanel, which aims to amend the general business law regarding prediction markets and to give New York State greater powers to regulate them under existing gambling laws.
Addabbo, in his interview, is referring to the rare position prediction markets find themselves in regarding how operators are regulated. A significant legal debate has been brewing across American states about where prediction markets should fall on the regulatory spectrum.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has a blanket green light at the federal level for operators to offer outcome wagering, but this becomes quite a tangle of red tape at the state level.
We covered the body blow that Crypto.com faced in Las Vegas when the operator was denied a preliminary injunction against the enforcement action to cease all prediction markets in the state until the legal case against the company is brought to a conclusion.
Crypto.com is just one of many well-known names in the prediction market game, but established betting companies like DraftKings have now teamed up with these operators to grow their prediction market stake.
Addabbo is hoping to get ahead of any federal decision-making before the state faces the same legal battles seen in Ohio, Maryland, and Las Vegas.
He sits as Chair of the NYS Senate Racing, Gaming, and Wagering Committee and has established landmark regulations on topics such as online sweepstakes.
At the time (March 2025), Addabbo said, “One of my primary objectives as Gaming chair is ensuring New Yorkers are protected from gambling operations that have the potential of becoming more problematic without proper legislative action, such as unregulated sweepstakes casino operators.”
So his support could be vital for any bills to progress to the sitting Governor, Kathy Hochul, for her signature, and Vanel, alongside supporters, will be hoping for a swift journey through the legislative pathways for AB 9251 with a bit of help from Addabbo.
ReadWrite has reached out to Senator Addabbo’s office for comment.
UPDATE: Additional comments from interview and clarification on support added on November 12, 2025.
Featured image: Sen Addabbo official
