Is New York Next?

When you look at online gambling in the United States from the outside, it’s a really sad situation. Whereas other countries have it fully legalized and regulated, we’re stuck in a constant “will-they-or-won’t-they” limbo as to whether it should be legalized in certain states.

In late 2013, online gambling became legal in three states – New Jersey, Delaware, and Nevada. Granted, Delaware isn’t the first state that springs to your mind when you think of states that could or would regulate or legalize gambling, but they pushed forward with it, and now they, along with Nevada and New Jersey, are enjoying the benefits of online gambling and no deposit promotions. In fact, online gambling may have single handedly kept New Jersey’s economy afloat this year despite several land-based casinos closing.

Now, everyone’s turning to 2015. California and Pennsylvania are set to debate about whether they should legalize online gambling, but another state has entered the picture: New York.

New York residents have been clamoring for online gambling for years. Nearby New Jersey legalized it last year, so it only stands to reason that New York would legalize it as well. Though they (shockingly) have fewer residents than New Jersey (according to the 2013 census), they also have the potential to generate a lot of money. There’s 19 casinos in New York, and given how cold it gets during the winter, it’s highly likely that the citizens of New York would want to stay indoors and play online.

There have been reports that next year, New York will hold hearings that will discuss online poker and whether or not the state will legalize and regulate it. This isn’t the first time New York has tried to legalize any form of online gambling. In early 2014, there was an online poker bill that was introduced, but little to nothing happened. Instead, the state decided to focus on the land-based casinos, and even scouted for new facilities. If you’ve been following the situation in New Jersey, you know how terrible of an idea building new facilities is.

While New York legalizing any form of online gambling wouldn’t be as big of a deal as California doing the same (California has almost five times the population of New York), it’d still be a major deal in the industry. The residents of New York could play comfortably (and warmly) from their own home, and it’d be a true test as to whether people would rather play casino games online or go to an actual casino.

2015 is poised to be a huge year in the industry, with quite a few monumental votes taking place as soon as January. Hopefully common sense will prevail and we’ll move forward and join the rest of the world, most of which is already enjoying online gambling and sports betting.