Poker Bill Proposed in New York

New York State Senator John Bonacic has introduced a new bill that would regulate and allow online poker for anyone within the state of New York.

The S6913 bill proposes that New York begin to offer online poker in both cash and tournament form to residents. A total of ten licenses would be available for prospective providers; each license lasting ten years. The fee to obtain a license would be set at $10 million; those who gain a license would be subjected to a 15% tax rate on gross gaming revenue. The bill includes a ‘bad actor’ clause, which states that any person or asset previously involved with taking wagers or running online poker sites in America after the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was introduced in 2006, is to be disqualified from gaining a license. According to the new proposal, allowing such an operator would create unfair competition with those that had respected federal and state laws.

‘Consumer protection’

Bonacic said in a statement: “New Yorkers are today spending millions on overseas, illegal gaming sites that have no consumer protections or effective restrictions to keep minors from playing.’’ He added: “I believe we need to start having a discussion on addressing this issue. That is why I have introduced legislation which would regulate online poker here in New York to protect consumers, prevent underage gaming, and combat problem gaming.” The new bill comes shortly after gambling news outlets reported that lawmakers introduced legislation in the House and Senate in an attempt to ban internet gambling in the US.

Gamblers await decisions on both bills.