New York is the biggest legal sports betting market in the country. One lawmaker wants to cut it in half.

Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal has reintroduced a bill that would ban all live betting — also called in-play betting — in New York state. We're not talking about specific prop bets. We're talking about all of it. Every bet placed after a game starts would become illegal.

Live betting accounts for roughly 50% of all sportsbook handle nationally. This bill would delete half the product.

The Quick Hit

• The bill: Assembly Bill A9343
• What it does: Removes "in-play bets" from authorized sports wagering
• The impact: Eliminates roughly 50% of sportsbook handle
• The argument: Protect problem gamblers from high-frequency betting

What Would Actually Be Banned

If this bill passed, you couldn't place:

• Live moneyline bets during games
• In-game spreads and totals
• Same-game parlays placed after kickoff
• Microbets (pitch-by-pitch, play-by-play)
• Any bet on any sporting event that has already started

New York has recorded multiple months with over $2 billion in handle. Cut that in half, and you're looking at massive revenue losses for both the sportsbooks and the state.

The Reasoning

The bill comes in the wake of MLB's pitch-betting scandal, where Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase and pitcher Luis Ortiz were federally indicted for allegedly manipulating first pitches to help a betting syndicate in the Dominican Republic.

Supporters argue that in-play betting creates an environment that accelerates problem gambling. The ability to place dozens of bets during a single game, they say, allows gamblers to chase losses in real-time and lose control faster than traditional pregame betting.

There's some validity to that concern. Problem gambling rates have increased since legalization, and Harvard researchers recently noted that having a "casino in your pocket 24-7" creates unique psychological risks.

The Counterargument

Critics — including basically everyone in the sports betting industry — argue this would be catastrophic for the regulated market.

If New York bans live betting, players don't stop live betting. They move to offshore books that continue to offer it. Those books are unlicensed, untaxed, and offer zero consumer protections.

The DraftKings/FanDuel exit from the American Gaming Association already showed cracks in the industry's relationship with regulators. A live betting ban would be a nuclear option that primarily benefits illegal operators.

And let's be honest: same-game parlays placed after kickoff are one of the most popular products in sports betting. Taking them away doesn't make demand disappear.

Other Bills in the Pipe

New York lawmakers aren't stopping at live betting. The 2026 session has introduced a suite of sports betting restriction bills:

• Ban sportsbook push notifications and text messages
• Prohibit gambling ads during live sporting events
• Ban ads mentioning odds boosts, bonuses, or "no sweat" bets
• Limit daily deposits to $5,000
• Prohibit more than five deposits in a 24-hour period

Another bill would legalize iGaming (online casinos) in New York. The state hasn't decided whether to expand or restrict — it's trying to do both simultaneously.

What Happens Next

Bills like this rarely pass on the first attempt. But they signal the direction of the conversation. Public opinion on sports betting has shifted — a Pew Research Center poll found that 43% of Americans now say legal sports betting is "a bad thing for society," up from 34% in 2022.

If scandals continue and public sentiment keeps turning, bills like this could gain momentum.

The Bottom Line

A New York lawmaker wants to ban every bet placed after a sporting event starts. That's half the industry's handle and one of the most popular features of modern sports betting.

The bill probably won't pass this session. But the fact that it's being introduced in the biggest legal sports betting market in the country tells you where some regulators' heads are at.

The battle between accessibility and protection is just getting started. And degenerates are caught in the middle.