New York Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow has resubmitted an online poker bill in the state of New York, and Tyson Larson has failed to convince his fellow Nebraskan politicians that regulating online poker is a good thing in his home state.
New York Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow has delivered a bill to regulate online poker in The Empire State. Carrying the title A9049, Pretlow produced the latest online poker-only bill on Jan 19, 2016.
The plan is to amend the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law, to allow New York residents to play online poker based on the fact that it’s a game of skill and not one of chance.
It’s not the first time Pretlow has submitted a bill. His first attempt was back in May 2014. Not much has changed regarding the nitty-gritty of the bill with licences costing $10 million, lasting a decade, and a 15% tax rate on gaming gross revenue.
The one thing that is different is the emergence of Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) as a thorn in the side of most States, including New York. Both DraftKings and FanDuel were recently granted rights to operate in New York until at least May. There is every chance that Pretlow could use the DFS noise to squeeze in an online poker bill based on the fact that both pastimes are similar when it comes to the chance v skill debate.
Nebraska Bill Fails
Nebraskan Senator, Tyson Larson, has failed in his attempt to prove that poker is a game of skill. Larson was sponsoring LB619 an amendment to the Liquor Control Act that would legalise certain cards games like Texas Hold’em in the state under regulated conditions.
Larson was trying to argue that despite not having casinos in Nebraska, it didn’t take that long for residents to drive to alternate states to find them (75-miles). His point being that the state suffered from the downside of gambling (people who have a tendency to rob the rich to give to the slot machines), and none of the upside (plenty of money to lower property taxes and raise funds for the local communities).
It took members of the Senate General Affairs Committee six hours to throw Larson’s ideas into the trash. They couldn’t even drum up enough interest to be bothered to cast a vote on the motion.
“We’re going into very dangerous territory here by slowly and surely peeling away that which makes us great. I’m not willing to bet Nebraska’s future on expanded gambling.” One Senate members told the Associated Press.
It sounds like he is considering the use of napalm as a pesticide.
