Online gambling in NY – will it change?

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New York is one of the busiest and prominent metropolitans in the world. It is a city for everything – working, education, shopping, holiday, entertainment, history, and culture. New York Casinos are part of the excitement that is New York. This Empire State is a bettor’s paradise with a good number of land-based casinos. You can find New York Casinos in many different areas; Seneca Falls, Irving, Union Springs, Salamanca, and Hogansburg – just to name a few. In New York, casinos are divided into three categories; racinos, which feature horseracing and gaming machines, commercial casinos and tribal casinos. The sports gambling scene here is also lively with retail sportsbooks available across the state.

However, there are no legal online casinos in New York, laws and regulations prevent it. The only option New Yorkers have is to play in social casinos. Social casinos such as Chumba Casino are legal in New York. Chumba casino offers table games as well as slot machines similar to those you can find at a local casino. You will play the games for free, so it’s not exactly gambling – but there are cash prizes to be won via sweeps coins.  Players who want to play online slots with real money must travel to nearby states such as New Jersey or Pennsylvania, where online gambling is totally legal.

However, wheels might be in motion, and a solid foundation is already in place to legalize online gambling in New York. In 2013, the state approved laws that allow commercial casinos, and now, there are four commercial casinos in New York.  Sports betting was also legalized in 2019. This means New York is heading to legalize online gambling. But the changes will not happen right away, probably in the next year or two. As the New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo did not put online gambling as an important agenda in his April 2020 budget. But state Senator Joseph Addabbo and other legislators continue to push hard for legal online gambling in 2021. The changes may require passing two independent legislatures and people’s approval via conducting a referendum.

New York and the US, in general, perhaps they also will stop targeting offshore online casinos. Offshore online casinos are companies that are not subject to any laws, rules, or regulations of a country but can offer residents an opportunity to play online safely. For example, in Canada, it is illegal to operate an online casino; however, it is perfectly safe and legal to play at any offshore casino in Canada. This approach has made online gambling one of the most profitable industries in Canada.

Canada’s success with online gambling should inspire New York to speed up the legalization efforts.




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