New York advances DFS and poker bills

Gaming bills make historic progress but may struggle to pass before June 16

New York congressional committees have passed two separate bills aiming to regulate online poker and daily fantasy sorts (DFS) in the state.

Senator John Bonacic’s online poker bill — S5302 — passed the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday and will now head to the Senate floor for consideration.

If it passes the Senate, thought to be less pro-gaming than the Finance Committee, it will then go before the state Assembly. However, the New York legislature is set to adjourn on June 16, a total of nine legislative days, leaving industry experts pessimistic the bill will be passed in 2016.

The current bill has still advanced further in the Empire State legislature than any other poker bill, and MGM Resorts hailed its landmark progress.

“We applaud the Senate Finance Committee’s vote to create a safe, legal environment for online poker through legislation that will generate tens of millions of dollars in revenue for taxpayers, and create open and fair opportunities for all providers of online poker,” said the group in a statement.

“This legislation recognizes that millions of New Yorkers play online poker on unregulated and unprotected off-shore poker websites that operate with no oversight, fraud controls, or age restrictions.

The Senate Finance Committee is also scheduled to vote next week on Bonacic’s bill to regulate DFS, after it passed the Senate Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee on Wednesday.

The bill, which would impose a 15% tax on the activity, faces the same June 16 deadline as the poker bill.

FanDuel said in a statement it was working hard with lawmakers to get the bill passed, while John Pappas, the executive director of the Poker Player Alliance, urged legislators not to delay until 2017.

“The regulation of DFS and internet poker can happen simultaneously and there is no need to wait to adopt strict regulations and safeguards for both,” Pappas said. “Three other states are already successfully providing consumers with a safe and regulated place to play poker online and New York should act quickly to give their citizens this right.”