New York's long-running effort to legalize online casino gaming has stalled again. The 2026 companion bills — Senate Bill S2614, sponsored by Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr., and Assembly Bill A6027, sponsored by Assemblymember Carrie Woerner — never reached a floor vote and were left out of the enacted state budget.
It marks the sixth consecutive year that iGaming legislation has failed to cross the finish line in Albany, despite New York running the largest legal mobile sports betting market in the country.
What was proposed
The 2026 bills would have authorized online slots, table games, live dealer games, online poker and internet lottery, taxed at 30.5% of gross gaming revenue — considerably lower than the 51% rate New York levies on sports betting. Licenses would have been open to existing casinos, video-lottery facilities, tribal operators and current mobile sportsbook licensees.
Why it stalled
Governor Kathy Hochul again declined to include iGaming in her executive budget, and labour unions maintained their opposition over fears that online casino would erode jobs at brick-and-mortar venues. The state's focus on launching its three newly licensed downstate casinos added another reason for lawmakers to wait.
Supporters argue New York is forfeiting hundreds of millions in annual tax revenue to neighbouring New Jersey and Pennsylvania, where regulated online casinos thrive partly on New York residents crossing state lines to play. For now, though, the status quo holds: no regulated online casino in New York. Our legalization tracker has the full breakdown.