Changes Could Be On The Way For New York Sports Betting Bill
Dustin Gouker, May 11, 2018
Dustin Gouker, May 11, 2018
The clock is starting to run down if we are going to see a New York sports betting bill make it to the finish line.So it’s not shocking that we’re seeing some chatter in mid-May, with the legislature set to adjourn in a little over a month.
The latest on New York sports bettingLawmakers in the Senate are apparently already working to change a bill introduced earlier this year that made it through one committee stop.This came down on Friday afternoon from GamblingCompliance.
<strike></strike>Chris Krafcik @CKrafcik
A spokesperson for Sen. John Bonacic — the sponsor of the legislation — told Legal Sports Report “there are currently discussions on potential amendments to the bill,” but that no final set of amendments exists as of yet. S 7900 is currently in the Senate Finance Committee.The bill appears to widely legalize sports wagering at gaming facilities in the state, including via horse racing tracks, off-track betting parlors and tribal casinos. The state already legalized sports gambling at four commercial casinos, although it’s not clear if that would be implemented immediately if the US Supreme Court sports betting case strikes down the federal ban.
Where is the Assembly sports betting bill?1/ Multiple sources have told us that a revised version of #NY #sportsbetting bill S7900 is making the rounds in Albany. Notably, proposed language in the draft would remove the NV-style in-person registration requirement for internet/mobile wagering.
<time title="Time posted: May 11, 2018 17:23:09 (UTC)" class="dt-updated" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(105, 120, 130); font-weight: 400; outline-color: transparent; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;" datetime="2018-05-11T17:23:09+0000" pubdate="">1:23 PM - May 11, 2018</time> A spokesperson for Sen. John Bonacic — the sponsor of the legislation — told Legal Sports Report “there are currently discussions on potential amendments to the bill,” but that no final set of amendments exists as of yet. S 7900 is currently in the Senate Finance Committee.The bill appears to widely legalize sports wagering at gaming facilities in the state, including via horse racing tracks, off-track betting parlors and tribal casinos. The state already legalized sports gambling at four commercial casinos, although it’s not clear if that would be implemented immediately if the US Supreme Court sports betting case strikes down the federal ban.
Getting too bogged down in the details of the floated Senate version of the bill might be a fool’s errand, unless it is going to mesh with what comes out of the Assembly. Still, killing the in-person requirement for registration would be a positive development, as that will help NY’s prospective online sports betting industry get off the ground more quickly.We’re still waiting to see a promised bill from Assemblymember Gary Pretlow, but it has not yet surfaced. Pretlow chairs his chamber’s gaming committee, like Bonacic does on the Senate side.When it comes to gaming issues, it seems like a bill needs his stamp of approval to move. That’s been the case for online poker, which has twice passed the NY Senate but has not gained much traction in the Assembly.There’s also been talk of sports betting and NY online poker being handled in tandem in the state.
What’s next?
There’s still plenty of time for New York to pass legislation, as the session is slated to end June 20.As we saw with a daily fantasy sports law in 2016, bills can be and often are passed at the last minute.So, for now, we’ll have to trust that a lot of political sausage is being made behind closed doors
