Bonacic passed an online poker bill in the Senate in 2016, but the proposal failed to pass in the General Assembly.
The Senate Finance Committee in the New York State Legislature passed an online poker bill on Tuesday. Senate Bill 3898 now heads to the Senate floor for a debate and, likely a vote.
S 3808 is sponsored by State Sen. John Bonacic, a longtime supporter of expanded gambling in the State of New York. Bonacic’s online poker bill would legalize card playing as a game of skill. Bonacic said in committee that he see Hold’em and Omaha ast he most skillful variants of the game.
27-9 Vote in Finance Committee
Poker players might disagree with John Bonacic on his assessment of poker variants, but the online gambling community roundly applauded his ability to pass the bill by 27-9 vote in the Finance Committee.
That does not mean the bill is fated for passage, though. Last year, a similar bill was passed in the New York Senate by a 53-5 margin. That bill failed to gain passage in the General Assembly, because Gary Pretlow, the Assemblyman who sponsored the bill, began to question its provisions in the 11th Hour.
Gary Pretlow’s Support
At a key point in the debate, Assemblyman Pretlow wondered aloud whether poker was a game of skill or now. John Bonacic said he was “confused” by Assemblyman Pretlow’s concerns, because Pretlow had been a solid proponent of gambling for years.
Since that time, Gary Pretlow spoke with the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement and came to the conclusion that poker is a game of skill. That is a key component to assuring passage of the law, because New York State treats games of skill differently than it treats games of chance.
Senate Bill 3898
Gary Pretlow now says he is entirely behind Bonacic’s new bill. At the same time, Pretlow spoke ominously of S3898’s chances of passing in the General Assembly. The Assemblyman said, “There are some individuals within the administration that are really opposed to this.”
First, the bill has to pass through three committees before it reaches the Assembly floor. If it reaches the floor, it is likely that many Assemblymen will oppose the bill, due to local interests. The Assembly has more members, so the districts are smaller and local business interests have greater influence.
Opposition from Tribal Casinos
Many assume that Gary Pretlow was speaking about the tribal gaming interests, because they are known to be hostile to online poker legislation in the state. It is possible that the new private casino operators in the state likely would be opposed to such gaming, too.
Those concerns exist, despite the fact the licensing process almost certainly would favor brick-and-mortar casino license holders in the state. That is how online and mobile gaming licenses are handled in the three other states with legalized online gamling: New Jersey, Delaware, and Nevada.
The problem with that system is the tribal casinos would have to compete with each other and with the private casino companies in the online poker market. Each would partner with an existing Internet poker brand, such as PokerStars, 888poker, PartyPoker, or Bet365 Poker. In those circumstances, the battle over who partnered with PokerStars — or whether PokerStars would be barred as a “bad actor” — likely would prove crucial in the state.
Online Poker Bill in New York General Assembly
Under those conditions, whoever received the support of a major online poker site would reap all the benefits, while many others would be pushed by the wayside. Meanwhile, potential customers who might visit the expensive land-based casinos might stay at home and play online. Thus, the downside is great and the upside marginal.
The vote in the Senate Finance Committee might be seen as a sign that the anti-online poker interests are at work in the legislature already. Last year, the floor vote was 53-5. This year, the committee vote was 27-9, meaning at least 4 legislators have flipped on the issue. Either New York State voted in many new anti-online poker lawmakers, or the lobbyists have been hard at work in the State Senate.
