For the past four years, the state of New York has been dallying with the idea of passing online poker regulation in the state. In those four years, there has been little to no movement on the issue. So why doesn’t the New York Legislature take the subject seriously and, at the bare minimum, perhaps examine what passing online gaming and/or poker legislation would do for the state.
There are plenty of people in the gaming industry who would welcome the passage of some sort of online gaming regulation in the Empire State. With an estimated population of 19.85 million (not to mention tourists who come to the state), New York would be the largest state if they were to pass legislation (Pennsylvania, who passed legislation last year, has roughly 12.81 million residents). The revenues raised by either a full online gaming industry or, at the minimum, an online poker only outlet, could range anywhere from $30 million (online poker only) to over $300 million (full casino gaming) in new money for the New York state coffers. Furthermore, if New York was able to show that online gaming could be regulated on such a scale, it would reduce the arguments from anti-online gaming advocates that such regulation couldn’t be done on a large scale.
The potential of New York to pass online gaming and/or poker regulation is basically set on one fact: the difference between two legislative bodies and the ability of one person to bring such legislation to the fore in one of those bodies.
Four long years ago, New York State Senator John Bonacic introduced legislation that would license and regulate online poker inside the state’s borders (remember, in 2013 the “Big Three” – Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey – became the first to offer intra-state online gaming and/or poker). Back then, however, even Bonacic admitted that the bill was simply to open discussion on the issue between his fellow legislators in Albany.
The bill, S 6913, didn’t move at all in 2014 and, after it was reintroduced in 2015, it again sat in legislative limbo. It wasn’t until 2016 (and the bill’s renaming as S 5302) that online poker started to move forward. It was voted unanimously out of a Senate gaming subcommittee (by a 9-0 vote) and moved forward in getting out of the Senate Finance Committee. The bill also was voted through by the Senate, while Bonacic continued to tinker with the bill for his fellow Senators if there were any problems with it.
In 2017, there was a tremendous breakthrough in the online poker drive. Bonacic was able to get his bill, now known as S 3898, out of committee and brought it to the floor of the Senate, where it passed by a vote of 54-8. Language was even inserted into the New York budget negotiations that counted revenues from online poker in its calculations. With one of the two bodies in the New York Legislature locked up, the bill was forwarded to the General Assembly for its consideration…and this is where the tale takes a different turn.
Although he has often said that he is in support of online gaming and/or poker in the state of New York, Assemblyman Gary Pretlow hasn’t been as aggressive with his approach to legislation as Bonacic has in the Senate. In 2014 as Bonacic looked to get the discussion going regarding online gaming, Pretlow introduced his own bill but, for the most part, laid low and didn’t make any indication of when or if the General Assembly would take up the issue. This would occur again in 2015 as the discussion continued.
After the success of passage in 2016, Pretlow started to move forward with bringing legislation forth in the General Assembly but, at the very last moment, pulled it from the floor because of “concerns over geolocation and safety measures” that he felt weren’t being addressed. In 2017, Pretlow – once again while saying he supports the passage of such legislation – could not find the votes for passage and shelved the legislation once again. While Pretlow continues to voice his support – he says he is “confident” that online poker “could” pass in 2018 – he has shown little to driving this subject forward.
A spokesman for Assemblyman Pretlow basically laid the reasons for a lack of action in the General Assembly at its size and differing opinions. “The size of the Assembly – 150 members – is problematic,” a spokesman for Assemblyman Pretlow stated to this writer. “Those members have distinctly different stances regarding the online gaming issue.” The spokesperson wouldn’t elaborate on what discussions Pretlow has had on the subject with his fellow legislators, only continuing to say that Pretlow “was a supporter of online poker.”
In looking at the New York situation, it is easy to see where the issues might lie. While the Senate and Senator Bonacic have been showing a great deal of forethought, the General Assembly and Assemblyman Pretlow have been less than enthusiastic regarding the subject. Will this lack of enthusiasm translate into another year of non-movement on the online gaming and/or poker question in the state of New York?
