New York takes next step toward legal online poker

The push to legalize online poker in New York has been given a major boost by the introduction of online poker bill A05250 in the lower house of the legislature.

The bill was introduced by Assemblyman Gary Pretlow and matches Senate Bill S3893, which was introduced by Senator John Bonacic last month.

It defines poker as a game of skill rather than gambling – much like the successful DFS effort last year – and would allow 11 initial licensees.

The bill also calls for liquidity sharing pacts with other states,

The support of Pretlow, the chair of the NY Assembly’s Racing and Wagering Committee, is a major boost for the poker industry.

Last year an online poker bill was passed by the Senate by 53 votes to five, but never reached a vote in the House, where Pretlow said “some entities still had an issue with it”.

Pretlow had also voiced concerns about the security and player protections of poker but appears to have been convinced the activity is safe.

Gaming attorney Jeff Ifrah said “People remember that DFS got passed in New York but forget that online poker actually had more support than DFS, so I very much expect it will be passed this year.”

“And that’s a very positive development because land-based gaming is so new there. New York only issued licenses in the last couple of years and they don’t seem afraid of cannibalization.

“That’s a very positive development, because it reflects the truth I think, that online gaming doesn’t cannibalize land-based gaming. If you can have both of those industries start at the same time that would be a big step forward.”