It seems that the State of New York is to seriously consider the legalisation of online poker with all pieces of the legislative puzzle now in place after Assemblyman Gary Pretlow introduced his Bill A5250.
The Bill A5250, sponsored by Pretlow, is actually the same as the one called S3893 sponsored by Senator John Bonacic, which was officially introduced last month. The new Bill presented to the state’s competent authorities seeks permission of certain interactive poker games as games of skill rather than games of luck. It also presents definitions, authorization, minimum standards and safeguarding measures. Licensing review procedure, taxes and penalties are also included in Pretlow’s bill.
Currently, the constitution of the state of New York officially prohibits the legislative expansion of gambling activities. This is exactly one of the main reasons why the state seeks to legalise online poker only. The efforts of both Pretlow and Bonacic have been aimed at defining poker as a game of skill, and not as a game of luck. Such a classification would allow the Bill to go round the legislative prohibition. Such was the case with daily fantasy sports.
Online Poker Legislation in New York
Actually, the state of New York was the one that made the most progress towards passing online poker regulation bills in 2016, along with the state of Pennsylvania that has also made some efforts to legalise online casino games.
It was in 2016 when a number of important steps were made in terms of online poker legalisation in New York. The eventual implementation of online poker Bill got the first successful committee vote and passed the Senate.
Unfortunately, the positive effect of these steps was overshadowed by the fact that Assemblyman Gary Pretlow provided quite a negative projection for the fate of online poker in the local Assembly. Pretlow revealed that he still had some issues with the matter, hinting of his complicated relationship with poker legalisation.
The Assemblyman has already proposed a number of bills related to regulation of online poker in the state over the last three session of the Assembly, Pretlow’s attutude toward the activity have varied.
As mentioned above, there have been several times when online poker had been put on the agenda and attempts for its legalisation have been made. The process, however, was long and fruitless, until 2016, when a Bill passed the state Senate.
Still, the fate of online poker is unsure in the state of New York. It is very likely for online poker legalisation to be introduced once again, with more support from Pretlow, who has also been engaged with plans for passing a sports betting legalisation bill. The latter is expected to challenge the federal law, which has already faced the opposition of the state of New Jersey.
- Author
Daniel Williams
