Relates to preventing minors from participating in sports wagering

Showing the cosponsors who are on Agora, A to Z. The official record may list more.

• Democratic8
• Republican2

This bill has cosponsors from more than one party.

Shown in neutral colors by design; Agora is non-partisan.

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Andrew Gounardes says this is needed

New York first legalized mobile sports betting, wherein users can place virtual wagers via a website or app on the outcome of a sporting event, the individual performance of an athlete, or a combination thereof, in the FY22 budget (Part Y of Section 4 of Ch. 59 of 2021). Mobile sports betting operators, such as Bally Bet, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, ESPN Bet, FanDuel, and others, would be able to offer their product to New Yorkers provided that they met a number of conditions: they must be licensed by the New York State Gaming Commission, pay a one-time $25 million fee to the state as well as a 51% tax on their gaming revenue moving forward, produce a detailed annual report for the Commission on the total amount of wagers placed and prizes awarded, and submit to an annual financial audit. Licensees were also required to take a number of steps to ensure that sports bettors were limited to a single account, and, crucially, that they were not on a list of "prohibited sports bettors" which Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding Law (PML) 1367(1)(r) defines as casino or gaming employees, related contractors and consultants, their spouses, children, siblings, or parents residing in their principal abode, participating athletes t hat are the subject of the sports event, sports agents and owners, union umpire personnel, employees of sports governing bodies overseeing the sporting event - or any person under the age of 21. Mobile sports betting operators were required under PAL 1367-a(4)(a)(iii) to prohibit under 21 minors from accessing their plat- forms pursuant to Gaming Commission rules and regulations, which currently stipulate that operators must collect full names, addresses, phone numbers, self-reported dates of birth (DOBs), and the last four digits of Social Security numbers, unless a user willingly provides a full Social Security number, at the point of account creation. The Gaming Commission then prescribes that operators use multi-factor authentication (MFA), which may include a password, previously provided security questions, biometric data such as a fingerprint or face or voice recognition, or an authorization code sent to a user's device or email, to verify a user's identity and ensure that the bettor is of a legal age. Despite the Gaming Commission's best intentions, however, minors are easily able to access the last four digits of a parent's Social Security number as well as their name, address, and phone number. Without a more robust know your customer (KYC) requirement to ensure that the person creating a mobile sports betting account is actually over the age of 21, the current requirements do not meaningfully prevent prohibited minors from accessing these incredibly high risk platforms. The presence of underage minors on mobile sports betting platforms is undeniable. Major sportsbook operators DraftKings and FanDuel openly compete in the lucrative marketplace of college campuses, where a large chunk of students are under 21. One NCAA survey found that 58% of 18- to 22-year-olds had placed a wager in the last year, with nearly 70% of college students reporting betting at one point or another (Brooks, Khristopher. "Underage Teenagers Are Illegally Placing Sports Wagers Online, Survey Suggests - CBS News." Www.cbsnews.com, CBS News, 25 May 2023, www.cbsnews.com/news/online-sports-betting-teenagers-ncaa- survey/.) Another survey from the National Council on Problem Gambling found that between 60% and 80% of high schoolers reported sports betting in the past year, and teachers and students alike report open conversa- tions about the latest parlay and point spread bet in school hallways on a daily basis (Cotrone, Colby. "High Stakes for High Schoolers: Wanna Bet Teens Need Gambling Education?" New York Post, 7 May 2024, nypost.com/2024/05/07/lifestyle/ hiqh-stakes-for-high-schoolers-wanna- bet -teens-need-g ambling-education/.) In an October 2023 report, State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli noted the particular challen

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.