Albany must SAY NO to the online-casino temptation – Latest News
Uh-oh: The New York Times final week dropped a Page One story marveling at the enormous income windfalls Pennsylvania and New Jersey have reaped from legalizing the “casino on your phone” — certainly pushing a really horrible concept to the prime of Albany’s agenda.
In the seven states that enable full-on online playing — slots and all — the authorities’s take dwarfs its income from taxing online sports activities “gaming.”
Pennsylvania rakes in $100 million a month; Jersey, $50 million.
How can Albany resist betting that it’ll do much better from “i-Gaming”?
And by no means thoughts that legal playing is a extremely regressive revenue-raiser, taking a far, far larger chunk of low-income people’ paychecks than it does from fats cats.
Nor that playing habit ruins numerous lives even when you’ve got to go to a brick-and-mortar on line casino to really chase the dragon.
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Then again, New York lawmakers are already hooked on the jackpots of legalized “gaming.”
Just this month, the state Gaming Facility Location Board accredited three casinos for New York City — two in Queens and one in The Bronx; the hope is that these will probably be larger money cows than the earlier upstate ones.
(If nothing else, the long course of for OK’ing casinos in the metropolis generated huge marketing campaign donations for each New York pol keen to smile on the concept — beginning with then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who obtained the complete sick scheme rolling years in the past.)
Just by coincidence, state Sen. Joe Addabo (D-Queens), chair of the Senate Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee, raised the concept of legalizing i-Gaming shortly after the downstate casinos have been OK’d and Gov. Kathy Hochul signed in law his invoice banning “sweepstakes casinos,” online websites that solely allow you to gamble with digital money.
Addabbo was a key participant in New York’s legalizing of online sports activities betting; he’s long pushed i-Gaming to present Albany more money.
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Oh, he additionally says it can keep New York aggressive with different states — with out mentioning that the “competition” is to see who can best bleed the most weak.
Addabo throws in point out of addressing downside playing as if it have been a public-service announcement.
The i-Gaming temptation hits when the Legislature will probably be more keen than typical to discover recent sources of lucre: Albany’s dealing with a cumulative finances hole of $34.3 billion by means of Fiscal Year 2029, plus strain to fund Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s $10 billion or more in “free stuff.”
Tax hikes can solely raise a lot from the nation’s already-highest-taxed residents; really slicing state spending is anathema to New York’s Democratic leaders, particularly once they need the help of all the tax-sucking particular pursuits in the coming election 12 months.
If you suppose it’s obscene for progressives to exploit the poor, begin giving your state reps an earful — or else New York’s so-called “leaders” gained’t have the ability to resist this temptation.
