New York Assemblyman Gary Pretlow has re-introduced a bill this week that would legalize online poker gaming within the state. The bill was considered in 2015 but was never able to gain any headway. Pretlow, alongside Senator Bonacic, are working to see the state move forward with their gaming industry.
Back in September, the state held a hearing in which online poker regulation was discussed. The hearing seemed to show that there was a favorable opinion in regards to line casino gaming but it seems that legislators do not want to worry about online gaming until the brick and mortar casinos are up and running. New York has the ability to have the largest online poker market in the United States, that is, at least until California enters the picture.
New York has been working on casino gaming for some time now, finally awarding casino developers with three licenses and a total of close to $1.5 billion spent on the new gaming venues. The state currently has five tribal casinos and nine racetrack gaming facilities. Estimates have shown that New York residents spend as much as $1 billion on casino gaming by going to casinos located out-of-state.
Based on the outcome of the hearing late last year in regards to New York online gaming, it would not be surprising to see interest in the online poker bill but a delay due to the current construction of the three gaming facilities in the state.
Also showing interest again this year are California and Pennsylvania. These three states seem to be the only ones who are working to try and regulate and license online gaming in some form or fashion in the US. All three were unable to see any movement in 2015 but 2016 could be different. It has been several years since online gaming legislation was passed in the US, with only Delaware, New Jersey and Nevada offering online gaming. Nevada provides only poker while Delaware and New Jersey offer both casino and poker gaming online.
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