New York’s State Of Mind On Fantasy Sports, Online Poker In Legislature

New York has just over two weeks left on its legislative calendar before calling it quits for the summer. This year has seen unprecedented action on online gambling, including bills that would regulate online poker and daily fantasy sports.
Will one or both of these become law before the session ends on June 16? Here’s a look at where things stand:
DFS: Looking good in NY?
According to the sponsors of the legislation that would legalize and regulate the DFS industry, things are looking up.
There had been months of inaction on a bill introduced in the Senate by Sen. John Bonacic. That appeared to be in deference to waiting for legislation that was just introduced last week by Assemblymember Gary Pretlow.
The two bills are not identical, but also not drastically different. According to GamblingCompliance:
Those two men chair the gaming committees in their respective chambers, so the final drafts of their legislation seem to represent the idea that a lot of heavy lifting has been done behind the scenes. Pretlow told Legal Sports Report that he believed the bill would have “smooth sailing.”
Bonacic’s committee will consider his bill on Wednesday; Pretlow’s committee takes up his bill a day later.
On the negative side for the bills’ chances, the New York Daily News pointed to the fact that the casino industry has emerged as an opponent to the effort.
New York is an important battleground for DFS, as it has a settlement in place with Attorney General Eric Schneiderman while legislation is worked on.
Online poker: Not looking so good in NY
The prospects for New York online poker are not nearly as good.
Bonacic’s online poker bill is on the docket for a Senate Finance Committee hearing, but there have been precious few other signs that online poker is getting a serious look in 2016. That includes a pessimistic statement from Pretlow about online poker getting through this year.
Bonacic continues to be a ray of hope for online poker supporters in the state; he passed a bill out of his committee earlier this year. Online poker was even included in the original version of the Senate’s budget.
But online poker, barring some quick and unforeseen momentum, looks like it is not a favorite to be passed this year.