In a unanimous decision, the New York Assembly Racing and Wagering Committee passed Assembly Bill 6745, a measure that bans online sweepstakes games. It will now be placed on the Assembly calendar.
Carrie Woerner, the chair of the committee, referred to online sweepstakes as “the on-ramp to youth gambling” as she introduced the agenda item for discussion and a vote on Wednesday morning during a public committee meeting. No discussion took place among assembly members, who had vetted the bill earlier this month. It passed unanimously.
The bill was co-sponsored in a bipartisan manner by 15 members of the Racing and Wagering Committee.
This is the second bill banning sweepstakes casinos to pass a New York committee this year. Senate Bill 5935, which has the same language as A6745, passed its Senate committee in March but hasn’t seen the Senate floor yet.
What does the bill do?
According to the language in the bill, A6745 “prohibits online sweepstakes games and revenue from illegal markets.” It also sets penalties and provides for the enforcement of provisions.
The bill amends the racing, pari-mutuel wagering, and breeding law to provide for regulation of the emerging sweepstakes-style games that are cropping up across the United States, especially in jurisdictions that do not yet have legal online casinos.
The language in the bill states that sweepstakes games have become widely available in New York over the internet on mobile devices and personal computers, including to minors. The bill claims that such games “evade consumer protection, responsible gaming, and anti-money laundering requirements.”
The NY bill defines an online sweepstakes as “any game, contest, or promotion that is available on the internet and/or accessible on a mobile phone, computer terminal, or similar access device, that utilizes a dual-currency system of payment allowing the player to exchange the currency for any cash prize, cash award or cash equivalents.”
How Sweeps Coins factor into things
Critics of the bill argue that sweepstakes games operate within the sweepstakes law, as players do not use cash to place wagers or gamble.
Sweepstakes operators often use “tokens” or virtual “coins” as a form of currency that users play with, as opposed to real money. Gold Coins are purely for in-game use. Sweeps Coins, however, can be redeemed for real cash. Critics of the product argue that it appeals to younger people because the barrier to entry is low, and verifiable age checks are not always in place.
