New York Just Launched a 10-Year Gambling Study — And It Could Shape Casino Expansion and Player Protections for a Decade

New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced the launch of a 10-year gambling study this week, and the timing is not coincidental. The state is in the middle of the most consequential expansion of gambling in its history — three full-scale casinos licensed for the New York City area, a potential online casino bill on the table, and mobile sports betting revenue that exceeded $2 billion in operator gross gaming revenue in 2024 alone. The study is the state’s attempt to get ahead of the data before the full effects of that expansion become undeniable.

What the Study Actually Is

The New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports, known as OASAS, is administering and overseeing the decade-long gambling survey. A random sample of New Yorkers aged 18 or older will be contacted to participate. The survey — officially called the New York State Well-Being and Life Survey — will run on a two-year cycle, meaning data will be collected and published repeatedly over the course of the decade rather than as a single snapshot.

The stated goals are to gauge the prevalence of problem gambling across the state, assess community awareness of gambling-related risks, and use that data to direct prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery services where they are most needed. OASAS Commissioner Dr. Chinazo Cunningham called the effort proactive, noting that as gambling opportunities expand in New York, the state needs to be ahead of where additional services may be necessary.

New York already runs one of the most data-rich gambling oversight regimes in the country. The Gaming Commission and OASAS produce annual reports on the impact of mobile sports wagering on problem gamblers, a requirement under state law. In 2024, New Yorkers wagered more than $22.5 billion on mobile sports betting across 1.7 billion transactions, averaging $4,329 wagered per account. The HOPEline — the state’s gambling harm helpline — received 3,064 calls in 2024, up 30.7% since 2020. The new 10-year study is designed to add a population-level prevalence layer on top of that existing infrastructure.

The Casino Expansion Context

The study is launching as the three newly licensed New York City casinos are being built. In December 2025, the New York State Gaming Commission granted final approvals to three projects: Resorts World NYC at the Aqueduct site in Queens, Bally’s Bronx near Ferry Point Park, and Metropolitan Park at Citi Field, the $8.1 billion Hard Rock development backed by Mets owner Steve Cohen. Resorts World NYC is expected to be the first to open expanded full-casino operations, while Bally’s and Metropolitan Park are both targeting 2030 openings.

Those three projects are projected to generate approximately $7 billion in gambling tax revenues for the state between 2027 and 2036. The New York Sportsbooks page on our site has background on the current legal betting landscape if you want context on how the existing mobile market fits into this larger picture.

With that much revenue on the line — and that much new gambling infrastructure coming online — the political and public health dynamics around player protections are heating up quickly. Alongside the 10-year study announcement, the New York State Assembly’s Racing and Wagering Committee advanced Assembly Bill 9146, which would prohibit gambling companies from recommending addiction treatment services that are not credentialed by OASAS, not located in New York, and not free of charge. Currently, operators can recommend services like Kindbridge Behavioral Health, which sportsbooks including DraftKings have promoted to users. If passed, that bill would funnel all problem gambling referrals through the state agency exclusively.

What It Means for Players

For players, the practical implications are layered. In the near term, the study itself does not change anything about how you place bets or what protections are available to you. What it does is establish a factual baseline — a measured prevalence rate of problem gambling in New York at a specific moment in time — against which future expansions will be evaluated. That matters because the debate about online casino legalization in New York, which could generate an estimated $2.5 billion in operator revenue in its first year and as much as $4.5 billion at maturity, will likely be fought partly on the basis of what the gambling harm data shows.

If the study data shows that problem gambling rates have held relatively stable through the mobile sports betting era — as some research suggests has been the case in other expanded markets — that would likely support the argument for further expansion. If the data shows measurable harm at scale, expect policymakers to push harder for deposit limits, mandatory cooling-off periods, stricter marketing rules, and other structural protections before iGaming is authorized.

New York already has some of the most developed responsible gambling infrastructure of any state, including a voluntary self-exclusion program that covers all legal gambling statewide and expanded Medicaid reimbursement for gambling disorder treatment. The 10-year study is meant to tell the state whether that infrastructure is working, and for whom. The data will be published over time, and those results will inform everything from which operators get favorable regulatory treatment to what the tax framework looks like for any future casino or iGaming licenses. If you play in New York, this is the policy process that shapes your experience — both the options available to you and the guardrails that come with them.