New York measure targets push notifications in sports betting apps that sponsors say threaten addiction

ALBANY — A new proposal seeks to ban push notifications that try to entice gamblers to place more sports bets in pings and flashes tailored by artificial intelligence that reach gamblers' cellphones even when the apps are shut off.

The push notifications match the powerful urge of some gamblers to bet on sports during events such as the upcoming NCAA March Madness basketball tournament with an ever-present means to do it, sponsors of the bill state.

But the new proposal faces well-financed opposition by some of the nation’s most popular sports gambling sites, which say the bill would eliminate the freedom of choice for gamblers. The industry has used top lobbyists and campaign contributions to key legislators to make their case, state records show.

"This is new and emerging," said Meredith Ginley of the push notifications. The assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at East Tennessee State University and clinical psychologist said push notifications can be particularly effective with people who find the need to gamble overwhelming, or those who "are chasing losses."

She found in her research that push notifications can alert users even more often when the app is turned off. The frequent alerts make gambling seem "gamified" like interactive video games, rather than gambling that is taking money from the user’s account, she stated in her research.

"As a researcher and psychologist who studies impulsivity and access, humans like these things," Ginley told Newsday in an interview. "We have more sports wagerers coming for treatment than ever."

In New York state, "mobile sports wagering" totaled more than $19.5 million between April 2024 through January, the most recent statistics, and New York has often led the nation in dollars bet each month, according to reports by the state Gaming Commission.

The bill states that a "skyrocketing" increase in online sports gambling can result in "occupational ruin, mental and emotional illness, the destruction of families, domestic violence, self-harm and suicide." If passed, New York could have the first law of its kind in the nation, the measure’s sponsors said.

A.I. concerns

The role of artificial intelligence to target a user’s favorite game, team player or other aspect of a sport compounds the concern, said Sen. Kristen Gonzalez (D-Queens), the bill’s Senate sponsor.

"With a.i. and the ability of gambling companies to collect data and target consumers, I think addiction will only get worse," Gonzalez said in an interview.

Assmb. Alex Bores (D-Manhattan), the bill’s Assembly sponsor, said sports gambling for many is just fun and challenging, "but for the minority ... it becomes an addiction and it’s absolutely devastating."

Push notifications for gamblers trying to cut down their wagers or quit, "is sort of like going to an A.A. meeting and wafting a glass of scotch under everybody’s nose."

The online sports gambling sites, however, say the proposed ban would take away choice from players, and are urging customers to contact their legislators to oppose the measure.

"Albany wants to ruin your sports betting experience," states the website of Sports Betting Alliance, which is lobbying against the bill.

"New York lawmakers are pushing a bill that bans legal sports betting platforms from sending push notifications," the website states. The lobbying group said that if the measure is passed, users will "miss out on ... real-time sports updates," "notifications about profit boosts ... (and) live betting opportunities."

The bill, however, say the ban would only stop notifications seeking a new bet, not general information for customers.

Lobbying push

The trade group based in Arlington, Va., has hired some top Albany lobbyists to represent the interests of DraftKings Inc., FanDuel Group and other sports betting providers on an array of gambling and casino issues, according to state lobbing records.

In January and February alone, the records show Sports Betting Alliance spent $40,000 lobbying on the bill to lobby five Democratic legislators, their staff and the state Gaming Commission.

The Sports Betting Alliance didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The company’s 2020 tax return, the most recent available from the Internal Revenue Service, said the group also paid $330,000 that year to Parkside Group of Albany, one of its hired lobbyists, for public relations. Sports Betting Alliance also spent $2.4 million in campaign contributions that year nationwide, including $77,500 in New York to the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee, $75,000 to the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, and $12,000 to the Assembly Republicans’ campaign committee, according to the IRS filing.

Since October 2022, Sports Betting Alliance contributed $750,045 to these committees and other political campaigns in New York state, according to Board of Elections records.

Supporters, however, don’t buy the alliance’s argument.

"This doesn’t curtail any personal freedoms or liberties," Gonzalez said. "We are curbing further addiction."

By Michael Gormley

michael.gormley@newsday.com@GormleyAlbany

Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.