New York Legislature Votes To Ban Sweepstakes Casinos

The hardworking men and women of the New York Legislature stayed over an extra week beyond their planned sine die of June 12 to pass several dozen bills before adjourning. One of those was Joseph Addabbo’s Senate Bill 5935, which will effectively eliminate sweepstakes casinos from the Empire State. 

While there had been some initial concern about timing when the New York Senate waited until June 11 to pass their version of the bill, Addabbo, who chairs the very influential Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee, used his considerable influence to shepherd the Assembly version of the bill through.

First, it was referred to the Assembly Ways and Means Committee the same day, and then Assembly Bill 6745 was replaced with the Senate version, which was essentially the same, on June 13. It then passed the full Assembly and returned to the Senate on June 17. That may not be a legislative roundtrip record, but it was still impressive nonetheless.

Addabbo’s bill is a much more narrowly defined piece of legislation than we have seen from some other recent states that have passed anti-sweeps legislation, especially Louisiana, whose bill was so overtly broad the governor felt compelled to veto it.  

It defines sweeps casinos as those that use actual casino-style games that offer a cash-out functionality. This is further defined as those that use a dual system form of currency, where that currency can be exchanged for cash or cash equivalents. This means your cherished free Big Mac in the McDonald’s Monopoly game will remain legal.  

It also specifies fines of up to $10,000 for each violation and places enforcement clearly with the state’s attorney general’s office and the New York State Gaming Commission.

Neither of these agencies has been a recent friend of sweeps gaming, with Attorney General Letitia James’s office in particular having just sent more than two dozen cease-and-desist letters to sweeps operators ordering them out of the state. 

Now both enforcement agencies will have more arrows in their quiver to deter bad actors and potential unlicensed and unregulated sweeps casinos skirting the edges of the state’s gambling laws.

There is no word yet on whether Governor Kathy Hochul will sign the bill, but it had broad bipartisan support as it passed the Senate 57 to 2 and then unanimously through the Assembly. It appears the votes are there to override a potential veto, and it would likely be a waste of political capital for the governor to force the issue.

As mentioned, this bill was much more narrowly tailored than the anti-sweepstakes casino legislation vetoed by Governor Jeff Landry in Louisiana or even the bills signed into law in Montana and Connecticut over the past several weeks. 

The Social Gaming and Leadership Alliance and the Social and Promotional Gaming Association, two pro-sweepstakes trade groups, were understandably vocal about what they see as a blurring of the line between legal sweepstakes offerings and illegal gambling.

They were just as vocal when similar legislation passed in the other three states. However, with legislative sessions coming to a close around the country, the score so far stands at two states that have successfully passed anti-sweepstakes bills, one of them being Montana. In a third, Louisiana, the governor stepped in at the last minute to block the measure.

It may sting a bit to lose New York, the nation’s fourth most populous state. Still, the industry has managed to survive remarkably well so far in 2025.

More importantly, the cease-and-desist letters filed by more than a dozen state attorneys general have had a far greater impact than any legislative losses to date.