Adam Roarty is a journalist covering sports betting, regulation, and industry innovation for CasinoBeats. His coverage includes tax increases in the UK, covering breaking stories in the ever-evolving landscape of US betting such as the...
Read Full BioNew York Assemblyman Alex Bores has introduced the Fair Play Act, which would ban sportsbooks in the state from placing limits on how much or how often bettors wager.
Bores said he introduced the bill, officially filed as A09125, as he wanted to level the playing field for gamblers. The Democrat commented, “It just seemed like a fundamentally unfair proposition that these companies would advertise the idea that you could win a lot of money … and then on top of that, these books are regularly banning the people who are winning.”
DraftKings CEO Jason Robins has previously commented, “This is an entertainment activity. People who are doing this for profit are not the players we want.”
However, Bores sees this as fundamentally unfair and compares it to investors who are successful in the stock market. He added, “Winners keep the books honest. Without them, it’s like having a stock market where you could only buy, not sell — you need both sides of the market for there to be a fair field.”
The bill explicitly prohibits sportsbooks from restricting users “because the bettor obtains financial benefit or due to the bettor’s waging activity.” However, it does provide exceptions in the cases where bettors are limited “for suspicious wagering activity and indications of a gambling disorder.”
Other Lawmakers Call for Stake Limits
While Bores’ bill aims to create a fair playing field for bettors, others have called for stake limits to protect losing gamblers. In April, Bores’ fellow Assemblyman Robert Carroll introduced a measure aimed at limiting how much bettors can wager in 24 hours.
Carroll proposes limiting bettors to wagering $5,000 and making a maximum of five deposits a day at licensed sportsbooks. While sportsbooks object to the idea of never being able to limit customers who they deem a threat to profits, they also object to the concept of always limiting users.
Stake limits have been introduced in some European countries and are significantly stricter than the proposed limit in New York. In Germany, gamblers are limited to monthly deposits of €1,000 ($1,100) per player across all online casino platforms. Additionally, the country places a €1 stake limit on online slots.
Similarly, the UK introduced a limit of £5 for over-25s and £2 on slots for 18– to 24-year-olds earlier this year. Last year, the Netherlands introduced a deposit limit of €700 ($796.24) a month, with this amount dropped to €300 for 18-25 year olds.
New York does have the biggest bettors in the country, though, with gamblers wagering over $22 billion last year. The state implements the highest tax rate in the US at 51%, which led to over $2 billion in tax revenue in 2024.
Massachusetts Will Require Sportsbooks to Notify Users of Limits
In Massachusetts, the state’s gambling regulator investigated sportsbooks limiting users. This week, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) revealed that only 0.64% of bettors in the state were limited.
Nevertheless, MGC Chairman Jordan Maynard said this number was still too much. Maynard said, “If half (of) a percent of bettors are being limited without justification, I want the algorithms to be retooled, I want people to be held accountable (with) the operators to be sure those folks can get back into the regulated market.”
Officials agreed on a new regulation that will require licensed sportsbooks to notify bettors if their accounts are being limited. Bores wants to go a step further and ban betting companies from placing limits on gamblers. Lawmakers will now debate the proposal, which has been referred to the Racing and Wagering Committee.
