New York moves to study prop bet risks

Task force structure
Integrity and athlete welfare
Recommendations due by year-end

New York Senate Bill S10153, introduced on April 30, proposes a four-member task force to examine proposition betting with a focus on under bets.
The panel would assess integrity risks, athlete welfare, consumer protection and the economic impact of prop wagers on the state’s licensed market.
A final report with recommendations is due by December 31, 2026 and could lead to tighter restrictions or broader rule changes for operators.

New York lawmakers have filed legislation that would create an independent task force to study proposition betting, placing particular scrutiny on so-called “under” bets that allow bettors to wager on individual athletes falling below statistical thresholds.

Senate Bill S10153, introduced by Sen. Jeremy Zellner on April 30, has been referred to the Senate Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering. The bill arrives amid a national debate over player prop wagers, with multiple states weighing restrictions and sports leagues calling for tighter oversight of a product that has grown rapidly since the legalization of sports betting.

Task force structure

The legislation would establish the proposition betting task force within the Rockefeller Institute of Government. Four members would be appointed by top state officials: two by the governor, one by the Senate’s temporary president and one by the Assembly speaker. All appointments must be completed by July 1, 2026. Members would serve without compensation but would be reimbursed for expenses.

The bill defines an under bet as a wager in which the winning outcome requires an individual athlete to fall below a stated statistical threshold, covering categories including points, rebounds, assists, yards, goals, strikeouts and minutes played.

The task force would analyze the types, prevalence and volume of under bets offered in New York’s legal sports betting market, the revenue they generate and their broader economic impact on licensed operators. It would also examine the fiscal consequences of a potential ban, a question that has proved decisive elsewhere.

Louisiana withdrew a proposal to prohibit all props and live micro-bets after a fiscal note projected the state would lose up to $21 million in annual sports betting tax revenue. Colorado stripped a similar ban from a consumer protection bill before it passed the Senate, with the sponsor citing projected revenue savings as a reason to abandon the measure.

Integrity and athlete welfare

The bill’s justification cites prop bets as being uniquely vulnerable to abuse and manipulation. It references high-profile cases involving lifetime-banned NBA player Jontay Porter, suspended NBA player Terry Rozier, and Cleveland Guardians pitchers Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase, all implicated in conduct related to the manipulation of player performance for betting purposes.

The task force would be required to examine threats to sporting integrity, including whether under bets create incentives for players to manipulate their own statistical output. The panel would also assess the impact on athletes themselves.

Reports of harassment and online abuse directed at players have increased substantially across professional and collegiate sports, with NCAA data indicating that more than a third of Division I men’s basketball players reported social media abuse linked to sports betting within the past year.

Consumer protection and problem gambling form a third pillar of the review. The bill calls for an assessment of how bettors perceive proposition wagers and whether existing protections are adequate. It also directs the task force to examine monitoring systems for detecting suspicious betting patterns, and to gather input from regulators, operators, researchers and sports organizations.

Recommendations due by year-end

The task force must deliver a final public report, including findings and policy recommendations, by December 31, 2026. The results could shape whether New York moves to impose tighter controls on proposition betting, restrict certain wager types outright, or maintain the current framework. Licensed operators and state authorities would be required to provide relevant data within legal limits.

New York’s bill arrives as the debate over prop bets intensifies at the federal level. The SAFE Bet Act, sponsored by Rep. Paul Tonko of New York and Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, seeks to establish minimum federal standards across the US sports betting market, including integrity-related measures.

Player unions representing athletes across major professional leagues have also called on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to restrict under bet and mention markets, citing athlete safety and competitive integrity.

For operators active in New York, one of the highest-revenue sports betting markets in the country, the task force’s findings could carry significant regulatory and commercial implications well into 2027.

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