New York iPoker Looks Promising for 2018

Home » Poker News » New York iPoker Looks Promising for 2018

Monday, July 3rd, 2017 | Written by Lucy Brown

NY State Senator John Bonacic has said that he is more optimistic than ever that an online poker bill will eventually be passed in New York, although there is not expected to be any movement on the issue until early 2018. The reason for the setback is because the bill which passed a Senate vote on June 13, and subsequently progressed through the Racing, Wagering and Gaming Committee was never taken up by the Assembly, as the legislative body had more pressing issues to address, namely whether or not to extend mayoral control over NYC schools.

Budget Deficit Concerns

Talking about the benefits of the new online poker bill which failed to reach the Assembly compared to the previous iteration, Senator Bonacic said that the main difference is that all the online poker tax revenue generated would go into the state lottery for education fund, instead of the state’s general fund. This helped sway some minds on the matter as for some time the legislature has been looking for a way to mitigate New York’s budgetary deficits which currently amounts to around $4.5 billion. With this in mind, the Assembly had been exploring ways in which to raise revenue without having to resort to increasing property taxes, and they now realize that online poker could be just the ticket to make this happen.

Awaiting Assembly Approval

After a bill sails through the Senate, it has to become active on the Assembly floor for a minimum of three days before it can be given a final vote. Success would then require a signature from Governor Andrew Cuomo before passing into law. While Cuomo has so far stayed mostly quiet on the issue, there are signs that he may get onboard and give final approval to the bill as in 2016 he signed off on a daily fantasy sports bill, making Bonacic confident that the governor will do the same again with the new online poker bill under consideration. As Cuomo explains:

“The governor’s office has not said he’s against it. He knows casinos and racinos want it. He knows we need revenue. So, I think he will sign it.”

New York’s legislative sessions start in January, and because the Senate has already passed the online poker bill, one might expect that it could be ready to vote again in January, giving the Assembly abundant time to think the issue over. Unfortunately, matters are rarely that simple as everything usually becomes backloaded during the last three weeks of the session, with the Assembly ending up having to make a late decision as it considers a pile of outstanding issues. Yet this year, it’s believed that this will not be the case as the Assembly is expected to look at online poker as a part of an overall bigger package that will take priority over a stand alone bill.

Many Benefits

On top of the significant revenue that this bill will generate, it appears that New York legislators are also hoping to stop the many New York residents who continue to actively gamble on unregulated, illegal and unsafe gambling sites. Needless to say, the new bill will regulate all online gambling activities, while providing crucial protection to all customers who enjoy playing online.

With the bill having demonstrated its viability by having sailed through the New York State Senate, Bonacic said that he was hopeful for its future prospects, and that he intends to keep working closely with those he considers colleagues in the Assembly in order to ensure that the legislation is approved in both houses in 2018. Sounding a slightly cautious note, though, Bonacic stated:

“I’m more optimistic this year than last year, but I’m not familiar with the leverage game they may be doing to tie things together. I don’t know if online poker will be held hostage by some other things the Assembly wants to do that have nothing to do with gambling.”