Count New York as a state that will not want the Graham/Chaffetz anti-online gaming bill to move forward in Washington, D.C. State Senator John J. Bonacic (R-Mt. Hope) introduced legislation on Friday that would legalize and regulate intrastate online poker in the Empire State.
The purpose of Senate Bill 6913, as worded in a memo attached to the bill, is “To authorize the New York State Gaming Commission to license certain entities to offer for play to the public certain variants of internet poker which require a significant degree of skill, specifically ‘Omaha Hold’em’ and ‘Texas Hold’em.’
The memo goes further, justifying the measure by reading, in part, “Presently, numerous New York residents are participating in illegal, unregulated and unsafe gaming operations which offer games of chance over the Internet. This bill will allow the state to license operators that meet the high standards set by the state and offer limited games of poker which require a high level of skill.”
It adds, “…not only this will help New York regulate an industry that is present operating without oversight in New York State, but also generate additional revenue from taxes and licenses fees associated with a licensed online poker system in New York State.”
The bill is fairly straightforward as far as online poker legislation goes. It does appear that it would legalize only online poker and not other forms of gambling. It would authorize the New York State Gaming Commission to issue up to ten internet gaming licenses; these licenses would be good for ten years and would come with a fee of $10 million. Operators would be required to pay 15 percent of their interactive gaming gross revenues in taxes to the state. And, as one would expect, licensees would be required to have safeguards in place to prevent against things such as fraud, underage gambling, and problem gambling.
If passed, the legislation would take effect immediately and the Gaming Commission would have to have regulations in place within 180 days. Licenses would then have to be issued within 180 days of when the regulations are set.
Also included in the bill is a “bad actor” clause, which states that any online poker vendor who “knowingly and willfully accepted or made available wagers on interactive gaming (including poker) from persons located in the United States after December Thirty-First, Two Thousand Six, unless such wagers were affirmatively authorized by law of the United States or of each state in which persons making such wagers were located” is ineligible for a license. Basically, it rules out operators like PokerStars who continued to serve U.S. customers after the UIGEA was passed, unless they were doing so in a state that specifically allowed for it.
