Suffolk Reporter

Assemblyman Jarett Gandolfo (R,C-Sayville) and Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY-02) have signed a letter addressed to Governor Kathy Hochul calling for the legalization of football box pools in bars and restaurants. As the NFL enters its playoff season and the Super Bowl approaches, they argue that these pools help small businesses attract customers during slower winter months. They note that the practice was essentially permitted for many years due to a lack of enforcement by the State Liquor Authority (SLA).

In their letter, Gandolfo and Garbarino ask Gov. Hochul to support formal legalization while directing the SLA to return to a policy of non-enforcement.

“After New York State legalized sports betting, bar and restaurant owners were warned by the SLA that they could no longer offer football boxes in their establishments,” Gandolfo said. “Through two years, we have seen sports betting bring in nearly $2 billion in revenue to the state. Football boxes in your local pub are not a threat to this revenue stream. Bars and restaurants should once again be allowed to offer football boxes to continue a long-standing tradition among fans,” he added.

“Bars and restaurants have been using box pools to draw in customers for years, and it’s been largely unenforced,” Garbarino said. “So many of these businesses barely survived the COVID pandemic, and now the state has taken away a proven method of attracting customers during the slow winter months. It’s a fun, harmless practice that should return—and hopefully before the Superbowl,” he added.

Gandolfo introduced a constitutional amendment (A.6890) that would allow the Legislature to authorize such pool selling without profit, along with complementary legislation (A.6880) permitting bars and restaurants to manage box pools. Local business advocates have told both lawmakers that these measures would be immensely helpful.