The State Senate of New York is to once again review the online poker bill which is aimed at making online poker legal across the state. The beginning of the week saw the online poker bill to be set on the agenda of the New York Senate, along with hopes of online gaming to be officially passed by the end of the week.
If the State Senate does not give the green light to the proposed piece of legislation, online poker will remain dead until the new legislative session, considering the fact that the current one is closing in a few days.
Recently, the proposed online poker bill has been reviewed and modified in a way that would provide the competent authorities with the right to grant operating licenses to companies that may meet the legislation’s requirements.
In order to do that, New York Senators are ready to have another special session in order to take the modified bill into consideration. The proposed piece of legislation would make online poker legal in the state, if successful. However, it is not the first attempt for regulation of the online gambling sector in New York. The state was close to finally getting the long-desired bill in 2016, as the New York Senate first approved an online poker bill, but the piece of legislation failed to find the support of the Assembly, as Assemblyman Gary Pretlow suspended it without any discussions to be hold.
This year, the S3898 piece of legislation which major sponsor is Senator John Bonacic, has passed New York Senate Committee in February, and then, in May, it managed to get to the Senate for Consideration. The bill was given much hope to finally bring some clarity in terms of online gaming in the state. As previously reported by Casino Guardian, even Assemblyman Pretlow, who in 2016 shelved the online poker bill, shared his positive outlook for the fate of online poker in the state of New York.
Back in February, Pretlow projected that New York’s online poker bill would be passed over the current legislative session. Pretlow, who has been known for his sceptical commentaries on the matter provided optimistic projection, especially considering the fact that he himself has backed another online poker bill, called A5250.
The piece of legislation sponsored by Senator Bonacic, on the other hand, passed the New York Senate Racing, Wagering and Gaming Committee. As mentioned above, previous versions of the S3898 bill have been introduced in the 2013/2014 and 2015/2016 legislative sessions, but these attempts were unsuccessful. At the beginning of May, the online poker bill was given the green light without any discussions and special debate, so that the piece of legislation passes to the Senate for further consideration.
The proposed bill is aimed to classify certain poker variations, such as Omaha Hold’em and Texas Hold’em, as games of skill rather than games of luck, which would make them legal across the state. Now, the State Senate of New York is expected to make its final decision on the matter and finally make online poker legal in the state or shelve it for another year.
- Author
Daniel Williams
