As Connecticut bans sweepstakes casinos, so does New York. The Big Apple’s lawmakers voted 57-2 to ban the new style of online gambling. This comes as the New York Attorney General Letitia James confirmed that the state had booted out 26 different sweepstakes operators in the run-up to the vote.
Sweepstakes casinos, at their core, can be a problem within gambling. While most legal operators will work within the limits of the state’s laws and provide preventative measures for addicts, sweepstakes casinos don’t have to work under those rules.
Mostly, because a large portion of those available operate offshore and work through loopholes, such as sweepstakes casinos, and despite the cash prizes, aren’t counted as gambling. This is a problem for New York, which hasn’t legalized online gambling outside of sportsbooks.
Players buy token bundles that are unrestricted in how much can be purchased, and use the “sweep coins” for cash prizes. “Gold coins” that take up a majority of the bundles aren’t used for anything but accessing the games themselves.
Sweepstakes ban in New York is for the kids, too
One particular issue that the New York Senator who introduced the bill, Joseph P Addabbo Jr, brought up on the floor was that it was targeting kids now too. As with the same lack of restrictions found elsewhere in the sweepstakes casino business, there’s also a lack of real protections for not allowing children to play:
“They’ve been targeting minors and have been allowing people to game illegally. We’re taking a good step to avoid that.
“Until we legalize online gaming in New York, we do not want the illegal market to expand, to grow, to target minors or those who have problems. The fines that will be issued will go right to problem gaming programs.”
On top of all of this, due to the offshore and loophole-driven nature, New York as a state sees no taxation from players’ winnings. With large amounts of cash being shifted about between players and operators, but none to New York itself, the state has smashed the hammer into the gavel.
