New York organization investigates the impact of online sports betting – Casino Reports

In January 2022, New York launched its regulated online sports betting market, which turned out to be quite a success, bringing in millions in revenue. Now, a year later, New York’s Problem Gambling Resource Center is investigating the impact of the new offering on state bettors, as its availability and access could be harmful to players.

The Empire State mobile sportsbook market launched on January 8, 2022, and initially four sportsbooks were bidding and accepting bets. But in later months, all nine operators went online. In its first year, the new sector brought in just over $700 million in betting tax revenue and another $200 million in operator royalties.

The calls for help have doubled

Jeffrey Wierzbicki, team leader at the Western New York Problem Gambling Resource Center, knows about the potential downsides of gambling. He announced this to the New Yorkers in 2022 Bet around $16.3 billion and was losing nearly $4 million a day. Also, calls to the organization doubled over the past year, and in his opinion, this was an unprecedented increase in the state.

He notes that the organization has noticed that a target audience for mobile sports betting is college-aged students, and so on the population group of 18 to 35 year olds was drastically affected. The expert explained that this audience is drawn to the idea of ​​low-effort, high-excitement rewards and that this has now become a real problem for younger people in the Empire State.

In addition, Mr. Wierzbicki commented that gambling triggers the same receptors in the brain as gambling activate dopamine in the same way as drugs. Therefore he reminds that it is important that people know that help is available. He also noted that some people are afraid to seek professional help, but assured bettors the organization is always welcome to help.

Patrick Harris, an online sports player, shared some of his experiences and thoughts on the subject. He said Gambling was like the lottery, as players believe they are going to win but in reality need to be honest with themselves. Because of this, he said it’s important to play with strict limits as they can limit the time spent on the apps and more.

Already taking action

The New York State Gaming Commission has already taken action against sports betting advertising in the Empire State. In a recent meeting, regulator officials tuned in favor of the lockdown. any advertising for sports betting on college campus among other things. The new regulations are not yet in force as they are subject to a 60-day comment period.

Earlier, Democrats Luis R. Sepúlveda and Leroy Comrie introduced legislation that was passed that would require all gambling advertisements in the state to carry warnings. These warnings would be about the possible disadvantages of gambling. It would also mandate that all advertisements include the New York gambling hotline number 1-877-8-HOPENY for problems.

Source: Hallikaar, Viktoria”Exploring the impact of online sports betting on New York, a year later” Spectrum NewsMarch 15, 2023