Senator John Bonacic has introduced a new online poker bill in New York, S-3898. The bill deals with the potential legalization of online poker in the state.
It has been about one year since Senator John Bonacic introduced an online poker bill, S-5302 in the State of New York. The bill had easily passed through the Senate at the end of the 2015-16 legislative session, but had been left out in the cold by the state Assembly.
Bill S-3898 proposes a change in the New York state law regarding racing and pari-mutuel wagering. The wording of the bill makes special mention of legalizing “certain interactive poker games,” with Omaha Hold’em and Texas Hold’em being noted as examples of poker games that should be legalized.
The new bill has been sent to a committee that Bonacic chairs, the Racing, Gaming and Wagering committee in the Senate. While the bill is very similar to the previous online poker bill, the new bill has provision for granting online poker licenses for up to 11 licensees as opposed to 10 last year. Those who wish to offer poker in New York would need to already be licensed to operate a class III gaming facility or video lottery gaming.
It is not expected that those operators who already hold gambling licenses in New York begin to offer online poker without any experience in the field. Rather, the existing licensees would form partnerships with approved companies that already have online poker technology and operational experience.
Gary Pretlow, the gaming committee chair in the Assembly, has had fears regarding fraud and collusion should online poker be introduced in the state of New York. He recently spent some time in New Jersey, learning how the Garden State operates its legalized online poker. He explained that many of his fears for the industry were put to rest when he saw the intrastate online gambling market in full swing. Pretlow feels, however, that there may still be those who would prefer not to legalize online poker in the Assembly.
It remains to be seen whether the new online poker bill will be brushed aside by the Assembly in the same way it was last year, or whether the bill will be examined and voted on. Should Pretlow and the Assembly legalize online poker in New York, the popular game will be legal from January 1st, 2018.
