New York is far and away the country’s top state for sports betting, but a new bill under consideration seriously threatens that market-leading status.

State assemblyman Robert Carroll has introduced a bill that would limit wagering to $5,000 per person, per day, and place limits on the advertising of sports betting, including a prohibition on promoting odds boosts and bonuses. Advertising would also be banned between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. ET, and during live games.

Carroll is pushing the legislation on health and safety grounds and wants to protect against problem gambling. Several other states, as well as the NCAA, have recently sought somewhat similar restrictions on sports betting.

“This nascent industry is lightly regulated and has harmed thousands of NYers,” Carroll said in a social media post. “The least we could do is put specific monetary caps and advertising restrictions. FYI—I have a Caesars account.”

The bill has been referred to the assembly’s Racing and Wagering Committee for review.

Opponents of the proposed legislation, however, argue that such measures would push bettors to neighboring locales, such as New Jersey and Connecticut, in the New York City area. It was New Jersey’s status as a key first mover in sports betting legalization that helped motivate New York to follow suit in 2022.

It will also bear watching whether any of the currently licensed sportsbooks in New York would forfeit their licenses if the bill passes. Already, the state’s 51% tax rate on sports betting revenue is tied for the highest level in the nation and has drawn frequent criticism, but it has been accepted by operators as a cost of doing business in such a fertile territory and the No. 1 U.S. media market. 

New York’s $22.6 billion in sports betting handle in 2024 was by far the most in any state in a single year since the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2018 allowing states to set their own rules in this area. That activity, up by 18% from 2023, generated more than $1 billion in tax revenue for the state, also a record. 

As Green Bay prepares to welcome 250,000 fans this week for the NFL Draft, several other cities across the country are continuing their efforts to land a future edition of the league’s premier springtime event.

Pittsburgh is set to host in 2026, but the draft’s location in 2027 and beyond is still undetermined. Here are the top contenders for the remainder of this decade:

• Washington, D.C.: Bid submitted for 2027
• Denver: Reported interest in 2027 or 2028, with the team telling FOS it continues to “monitor the feasibility of all NFL tentpole events.”
• Buffalo: Expression of interest sent for 2028 or 2029

Charlotte and Panthers officials have also previously mentioned interest in hosting a draft, but no bid has been submitted to date. 

In February, Minnesota Sports and Events president and CEO Wendy Williams Blackshaw told Front Office Sports that bringing a draft to Minneapolis was a “top priority” for the city, although she didn’t specify if a bid had been made or what years they were targeting. Harris County – Houston Sports Authority CEO Ryan Walsh told FOS the city has sent the NFL an expression of interest for hosting events in 2029 and 2030 and would be “excited for any opportunity, whether it’s combine, draft, or Super Bowl.” However, the primary focus is hosting another Super Bowl.

Lions president Rod Wood said this week he would like to see the draft return to Detroit, last year’s host site, as soon as possible.

NFL owners will likely vote on and announce the 2027 draft host city at their next league meetings in May.

Consolation Prize

As the NFL Draft plays out in Green Bay, and then Pittsburgh next year, the event continues to bring the league’s national spotlight to cities that are not likely contenders to host a future Super Bowl. 

Recent hosts in cold-weather cities like Kansas City (2023) and Cleveland (2021) won’t be considered for a Super Bowl without an enclosed stadium (which the Browns are vying for). Detroit most recently hosted Super Bowl XL in 2006 shortly after Ford Field opened, but it hasn’t vied for the Big Game since.

Draft-hopeful locales D.C., Denver, and Buffalo are also unlikely to host a Super Bowl. Although a new stadium in Washington could potentially change that. The Super Bowl is headed to the Bay Area in February, Los Angeles in 2027, and Atlanta in 2028.

Commissioner Adam Silver hasn’t been shy to make drastic changes to the NBA’s rules and format, but one idea he floated earlier this year does not appear to have the support of the league’s players.

In an anonymous NBA players’ survey conducted by The Athletic, players overwhelmingly voted against cutting games to 10-minute quarters, a move that would reduce game time from 48 minutes to 40 minutes. Silver floated a pivot to 10-minute quarters when asked on The Dan Patrick Show in January about the “wildest thing” the league has considered.

Of the 153 players to vote on whether they liked Silver’s idea of cutting the quarter times, 78.4% voted “No” compared to 13.1% who voted “Yes” and 8.5% who were “Undecided.”

Silver said the shorter game time might appeal to “modern television habits.” The NBA’s declining ratings were a central topic at the time of the interview. (Viewership was down double-digits through the first two months of the season but finished down 2%.) 

He acknowledged, however, that he is “in the minority” among those in the league office in favor of a shift. Silver said he understands a change in game time would affect statistics and records.

To Three or Not to Three

Some pundits, including Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, have blamed the rise of three-point shooting as a reason for the declining viewership earlier in the season. “Everybody’s running the same plays,” O’Neal said in November. 

Even LeBron James, who is in his 22nd season, has expressed his displeasure with the league’s reliance on threes in this era. “Our game—there’s a lot of fucking threes being shot,” James told reporters in December.

The Athletic’s survey showed players are fairly split in terms of their opinion on the three-point revolution. When asked whether analytics have been good for the NBA, 38.3% of 154 players said it was “Bad,” 28.6% answered “Good,” while the remaining 33.1% were “Somewhere in the middle.”

FOS graphic

NBA teams averaged 37.6 three-point attempts per game this year, the most in NBA history, and 7% more than last year (35.1). The defending champion Celtics shot 1,351 threes last year, which, at the time, was the second-most attempts by a team in history. They followed that up by breaking the record this year.

Silver said in January on The Herd with Colin Cowherd that he is aware that there are “very similar offenses” in the NBA. However, he doesn’t want to make any drastic rule changes yet.

“I don’t want to sort of knee-jerk move the three-point line. We’re going through a process now, seeing how these players are adapting to the new rules, and figuring out whatever changes we should make,” Silver said.

He said the simple solution of moving the three-point line farther back may “clog” the paint with players. “That’s not such attractive basketball, either,” Silver said.