Legal Age to Gamble in New York Casinos Could Increase

Posted on: January 24, 2025, 02:06h. 

Last updated on: January 24, 2025, 02:06h.

The legal age to gamble inside New York casinos could soon increase should a powerful state senator get his way.

New York gambling age video lottery
The Empire City Casino floor in Yonkers, NY, is accessible to anyone aged 18 and older. A New York lawmaker thinks only people aged 21 and up should be allowed to play the video lottery terminals. (Image: Yonkers Times)

This week, state Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr. (D-Queens) introduced Senate Bill 2610. The legislation would prohibit anyone under the age of 21 from gambling inside the Empire State.

Under current law, anyone aged 18 and older can access New York’s more than 17,600 video lottery terminals (VLTs) located at nine racinos and off-track betting facilities across the state. VLTs are slot-like machines and electronic table gaming products that are linked to a centralized lottery system maintained by the New York State Gaming Commission.

VLTs operate at Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway, Resorts World New York City, Saratoga Casino Hotel, Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack, Resorts World Hudson Valley, Hamburg Gaming at the Fairgrounds, Vernon Downs Casino Hotel, Batavia Downs Gaming, and Jake’s 58 Hotel & Casino.

SB2610 would not raise the age to play the New York Lottery, which remains at 18. However, the minimum age to play Quick Draw, a keno-based game drawn every four minutes played at watering holes and small businesses where alcohol is served, is 21.

New York Age to Gamble 

Unlike the VLT properties, New York’s 2013 commercial casino law mandated a minimum age of 21 to participate.

Four casinos have since opened upstate — del Lago Resort and Casino, Resorts World Catskills, Rivers Casino Schenectady, and Tioga Downs. Patrons must show proof that they’re at least 21 years old before they can access those gaming floors. The same goes for most tribal casinos upstate, with Turning Stone being one exception where 18+ can gamble.

Slots, live dealer table games, and in-person sports betting will arrive downstate in the coming years, as the 10-year moratorium on the NYC licenses has ended and the bidding war for the coveted concessions is underway.

Addabbo, who chairs the Senate Committee on Racing, Gaming, and Wagering, has long wished to bring VLTs into unison with commercial casinos to only allow access for people of legal drinking age. He’s been unsuccessful since the 2011-12 legislative session when he first introduced legislation to raise the VLT minimum age.

Addabbo’s SB2610 is being first reviewed by his Gaming Committee. Last year, similar legislation cleared the committee by a 5-2 vote before stalling in the Senate Rules Committee.

Video Lottery Benefits Education 

Though the VLT centralized system is maintained by the New York Gaming Commission, the revenue the games generate is considered part of the New York Lottery, with all proceeds going to aid public education.

During the 2023-24 fiscal year, which ran April 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024, VLTs kept about $2.4 billion of the more than $39.5 billion wagered. The state’s education contribution from the net win amounted to more than $1 billion.

Empire City accounted for the most education revenue at $310.8 million. Resorts World NYC was next at $281.4 million and Jake’s 58 was third at $128.9 million.

The Commission aspires to provide the regulatory structure necessary for New York gaming activity to operate effectively in a global, evolving, and increasingly competitive marketplace to generate revenue for aid to education and for the support of government, and to contribute to overall economic development and job creation in New York,” the mission statement of the New York Gaming Commission reads.

Increasing the age for VLT play would presumably cut into maximizing educational aid. That’s why state lawmakers in Albany haven’t gotten on board with Addabbo’s push in recent legislative sessions.

However, with mobile sports betting thriving in New York — today, the country’s richest sports betting market — more support for increasing the video lottery age to 21 might be realized.