New York Online Poker May Fold with New Study Bill

Regulated online poker may not be coming to New York anytime soon when a new bill was
proposed, which aimed to evaluate the effects of gambling over New York residents.
Linda Rosenthal, a Democrat, led the launch of the bill despite New Yorkers ranking outside the
top 33 percentile of states that face a gambling addiction.
How it Came Upon
The Bill, A00591, started its origins on January 9 when it was pre-filed which prompted it to be
forwarded to the Committee on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. The committee, by a vote of 13-0, was
unanimous in approving the bill, and forwarded it to the Ways and Means committee to discuss
the next step that they are going to take for the bill to become a law.
What Happens When the Bill Becomes a Law?
When A00591 becomes a law, the New York State Gaming Commission would delve deeper
into the gambling industry. It is going to take a closer look on poker, horse-racing, lottery, and
the casinos.
The study would then generate its findings and come up with statistics that detail the profile of
various gamblers such as their age, race, education, sex, and their reported average income. From
there, lawmakers would then be able to identify an accurate percentage of how many New
Yorkers love to gamble, and how much money they may have lost along the way.
The evaluation would have to be finished by December 1, 2023, roughly four years from today.
The Online Poker Bill S 18
Sen. Joseph Addabbo earlier introduced the Online Poker Bill to help regulate online poker in
New York. It required casinos to pay a 10-million-dollar upfront fee to obtain a license to
operate online poker games, a 15% tax rate, and would effectively ban violators.
One key provision of the bill was allowing New York to participate with other states in order to
increase player pools; however, the Department of Justice had just blocked this measure by
saying that wagers are not allowed to cross states.
Rosenthal’s bill is clearly going to stall the passage of Addabbo’s bill.
Who’s Really Responsible for A00591?
New York lawmakers are laudable and should even be praised highly if they really intended to
protect their constituents with the introduction of A00591. Gambling addiction is a worldwide
problem, and it should be addressed.
What is fishy, however, with A00591 is that it takes too long to complete. It makes people
wonder if a rich activist who is really against online poker and gambling may be pulling the
strings behind the scenes.
Lately, the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling and Sheldon Adelson have been vocal towards
their opposition. Could they be the ones behind the bill? Your guess is as good as ours.