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Tonko still wants to ban gambling ads

Feb 12, 2024 12:21 am

Kevin Frey reports for New York State of Politics that on Super Bowl weekend, Rep. Paul Tonko was again railing against sports betting. Tonko said, “We need to avoid a potential crisis here." Tonko, who represents Albany County and the rest of the 20th Congressional District, has a to outlaw gambling ads on TV, radio, and the internet, just like a 1970 law restricted ads for cigarettes. In the 2022-2023 budget year, New York collected about $727.4 million in taxes from mobile sports betting, and in 2022 the state also saw a 26 percent increase in problem gambling-related calls to the Office of Addiction Services and Supports. Tonko said, “Yes, those are dollars into the state.... But how many dollars are going to be required of these states to address yet another illness of addiction?” Chris Cylke, a senior vice president of the American Gaming Association, said that “any such effort [to outlaw ads] only serves to reduce awareness for legal options to the benefit of illegal, offshore operators and the detriment of consumers and communities.... Congress should instead focus its attention on combatting the predatory and pervasive offshore illegal market that offers no responsible gaming measures, age verification or problem gambling resources.” Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

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