New York bill seeks to block online sports bets from college campuses

Online sports bettors in New York could be blocked from placing wagers while on college campuses under a new bill introduced by Sen. Andrew Gounardes.

Senate Bill 10470 would prohibit online sports betting operators and platform providers from accepting, permitting, or facilitating wagers from anyone located on a New York college campus. The measure has been referred to the Senate Racing, Gaming, and Wagering Committee and has not yet been scheduled for a hearing.

If enacted, operators would have until Aug. 1, 2027, to implement geolocation and geofencing technology capable of detecting and preventing campus-based wagering. Colleges and universities would be required to provide the New York State Gaming Commission with the geographic data and campus boundary information needed to enforce the restriction.

“All mobile sports wagering operators and platform providers shall, on or before August first, two thousand twenty-seven, implement geolocation and geofencing technology,” Gounardes wrote in the bill, which says the systems must be able to reasonably detect and prevent wagering activity on the covered campus property.

New York currently has nine licensed online sports betting operators, eight of which are active in the state. The bill also provides for civil penalties for violations, although it does not specify the amount.

“My bill doesn’t ban legal sports betting. Instead, it creates a clear, specific safeguard focused on a population we know needs it,” Gounardes told Sports Betting Dime, adding that colleges already limit alcohol, tobacco, and other potentially harmful activities on campus, and that existing geolocation tools can be used to create a similar boundary for sports betting.

The bill has a companion measure in the Assembly. Assembly Bill 10526 was introduced by Assemblymembers Rebecca Kassay and Deborah Glick and is set to be discussed by the Assembly Racing and Wagering Committee. Gounardes has said young adults face heightened gambling risks.

“The truth is, young people are especially vulnerable when it comes to gambling abuse. The data is clear: Americans 18-24 struggle with gambling addiction at a rate two to three times higher than the general population. We owe it to young people to offer fair protections that keep them safe,” he said.

The proposal follows other gambling protection measures in New York, including Gounardes’ “Sports Wagering and Minors Act,” introduced on Jan. 29, 2026, to require age assurance for account holders and allow parents to register personal data with platforms to prevent minors from using it to open accounts.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has also urged lawmakers to cut off underage access to online sports gambling. “Let’s block location-sharing and let’s do more to cut off access to online sports gambling so our kids are not ensnared by addiction at a young age,” she said earlier in the year.

Maryland considered a similar campus gambling ban in 2024, but the bill failed to advance. Towson University opposed that measure, saying a geofence was “not technically feasible” and raising concerns over accuracy, ethics, and private network use.