New legislation in New York seeks to ban the use of e-wallets to fund sports betting accounts.
Assembly Bill A8724, introduced June 2, 2025, by Assemblymember Phil Steck, would amend existing state law to prohibit the use of “gift certificates, open loop gift certificates, and e-wallets for mobile sports wagering.”
The bill doesn’t mention any e-wallets by name, but it would include the likes of PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Venmo, CashApp, and more.
Steck told GamblingHarm.org in an interview that it was “regrettable” when New York legalized online sports betting to raise tax revenue.
He said that his bill would establish additional safeguards to combat problem gambling.
He added that sports betting is a “tax on the poor and middle class.”
According to Steck, his bill has unclear chances of becoming law. A8724 will have a hearing later this summer, Steck said.
Steck is the chairman of the Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Committee and a member of the Health, Insurance, Judiciary, Labor, and Oversight/Investigations Committees.
Reining in a Massive NY Gambling Market
The betting industry will likely oppose Steck’s legislation.
According to Legal Sports Report, New York sportsbooks have so far won $5.9 billion from New Yorkers and visitors to the state. New York online sports betting began in January 2022.
New York is the largest state-sanctioned sports betting market in the country.
Over the past several years in New York, there’s been a mix of gambling expansion proposals and bills to place restrictions or guardrails on gambling to combat compulsive play.
Steck said that his staff consulted the Center for Gambling Studies at Rutgers University when drafting A8724.
Steck’s bill wouldn’t address the use of credit cards to fund a sports betting account. New York allows credit cards for this purpose.
A different bill, introduced in April, would ban credit cards for sports betting in New York. In April, Illinois became the seventh betting state to ban the use of credit cards.
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