Online poker hit a significant milestone in New York Tuesday, but as the legislative session draws to a close, the future of the game in the Empire State is still a question mark. For the first time in the state, an online poker bill passed through a full chamber of the legislature, as S5302 was approved overwhelmingly by the state Senate by a 53-5 vote. But that is only the Senate and right now, the chances of it passing in the Assembly appear dubious.
The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) applauded the Senate’s passage of Sen. John Bonacic’s poker legalization bill. Said PPA executive director John Pappas in a press release:
Today marks a major achievement for internet poker regulation, but to be complete this bill must get to Governor Cuomo’s desk for signature. Thousands of PPA members in New York have contacted their state lawmakers and the state Senate responding by passing a bill that would finally provide consumers with a safe and regulated place to play poker online. With the state legislative session coming to an end this week, now is time for the Assembly to make iPoker regulation a priority. The consumer case for internet poker regulation is clear, plus it will raise millions in new revenue for the state without raising taxes. There is no other proposal before the legislature that can do this. Not acting on it would essentially amount to the legislature turning their back on consumer protections and new revenue without raising taxes.
As Pappas said, the bill still needs to be signed by Governor Cuomo, but before it gets to his desk, the Assembly needs to pass it. And therein lies the problem. Though the bill was sent from the Senate to the Assembly and was, in turn, brought up for a vote, it was “laid aside” to be looked at later. Unfortunately, Thursday, June 16th is the last day of the New York legislative session. So if the later date for the bill to be considered is going to come, it has to come today or tomorrow.
Speaking with The Buffalo News Tuesday, Assemblyman Gary Pretlow, the sponsor of the online poker bill, said that he believes the effort to legalize and regulate online poker in New York is dead, despite the success in the Senate. In the meantime, a daily fantasy sports (DFS) legalization bill that Pretlow is also championing is making progress; Pretlow believes it will pass both the Senate and Assembly.
It sounds like the best chance for a poker measure to get through the Assembly is for it to be tacked on to the omnibus spending package, which will be completed before the Assembly adjourns. It takes some effort for a legislator to get things added to the spending package, but it is a possible avenue for something like online poker that wasn’t able to muscle through the Assembly in the traditional way. It is a similar method to the one that was used to get the UIGEA added to the must-pass SAFE Port Act in 2006, but of course, this time the end-around would be to the advantage of poker supporters. That’s politics. Yippee.
