New York Plans Stronger Sports Betting Regulation to Curb Gambling Addiction

New York regulators have proposed two new rules aimed at curbing gambling addiction in the state's booming sports betting market. The proposal, unveiled by the state's gaming commission, includes guidelines based on New Jersey's existing system to identify at-risk bettors and requires companies to check in with those users. The other rule bans the use of artificial intelligence to customize bonuses or wagers.

One of the key concerns is that these rules do not go far enough in addressing the issue of problem gambling, as some experts argue that the threshold for triggering interventions is set too high. Critics argue that the proposed rules are merely a superficial reform and do not address the root of the problem. The commission's chair, Brian O’Dwyer, acknowledged the limitations of the proposal but urged the nine licensed mobile sports betting companies in New York to share data to prevent problem gamblers from evading intervention.

The rules will undergo a 60-day comment period before being formally adopted. This comes in the wake of recent reports highlighting DraftKings' use of artificial intelligence to target promotions to losing bettors and ProPublica's investigation revealing the company's lack of effective interventions for problem gamblers.