The New York State Senate passed a bill regulating online poker introduced by John Bonacic

“Happy birthday, [State Senator]John Bonacic.” Those were some of the final words spoken before the New York State Senate approved S5302D, which would grant 11 online poker licenses in New York, by a 53-5 vote.

“I’m glad the bill passed overwhelmingly,” Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Vice President Rich Muny said. “It shows the power of advocacy over crony capitalism. The Assembly is the next battle.”


The debate mainly consisted of a back-and-forth between Bonacic, the bill’s sponsor, and State Senator Liz Krueger, the latter of whom the PPA said sounded like she was reading a list of talking points from Sheldon Adelson‘s Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling.

Krueger asked about the constitutionality of the bill, changing penal law, and the definition of gambling. She also worried that prosecutors wouldn’t be able to go after other forms of gambling should the bill become law. “It opens us up to where prosecutors may not be able to go after backroom games like poker,” she said.

Bonacic countered, however, that there was plenty of support for his bill already.

“The racinos and casinos all have given us a letter of support for online gaming,” he said. “It would have to be at brick-and-mortar operations. That’s how we arrived at 11 licenses. Each operator that wanted a platform for online gaming would have to locate it at a casino and pay the $10 million [licensing fee] for a 10-year period. It’s anticipated from online gaming… anywhere from $33 million to $45 million the first year. That would be earmarked for education.”

However, it was later clarified that the ongoing revenue from poker would actually be put into New York’s general fund and not directly to education, but that didn’t seem to sway the end vote.

Bonacic also trumpeted the consumer protection aspects of the bill. “We can regulate it, we can monitor it, we can put consumer protections in, and we can raise money for education,” he said. “That was the motivation for this. And more jobs.”

A debate between Bonacic and Krueger then ensued about a so-called “bad actor” clause that could prohibit Amaya Gaming, the parent company of PokerStars, from being licensed in New York. In fact, Amaya’s name was dropped during the proceedings as an example, in Krueger’s opinion, of a bad actor.

“I don’t think you’re giving enough credit to the gaming commission,” Bonacic said of sniffing out bad actors. “They will review the eligibility of any outside applicant… They would review all of the applications for a partnership agreement… They would have the power to say no.”

Bonacic also said a license could be revoked at any time. “When you accept a license, you say you’re accepting the rules and regulations of the gaming commission,” he said. “There’s an ongoing review during a 10-year license.”

“Gaming regulators are tight. They monitor. They regulate,” he said, pointing out that regulators in New York could even talk with regulators in states like New Jersey to discuss any unfit actors, operators, or licensees. He said regulators have open lines of communication that could come in handy.

Krueger then brought up the Adelson-backed Restoring America’s Wire Act, or RAWA, a bill at the Federal level that would ban online poker, including in the three states where it’s currently legal.

Speaking on RAWA, Krueger asked if New York would have to repay licensing fees if RAWA were passed. Bonacic responded, “We would have to terminate online gaming. Any money in the escrow accounts of the bettors would have to be returned… I would suggest [a portion of the licensing fee] would be returned.”

Zombies.

Krueger, continuing the back-and-forth with Bonacic, said that green-lighting online gambling “makes it a 24-7, wherever-you-are-in-New-York activity.” She then said that online games will lead to “the next generation of zombies,” sparking a few people on Twitter asking where the first generation of zombies are. “This is going to do big harm to our society,” she said.


Bonacic closed by reiterating his consumer protection thesis and even evoking language that was reminiscent of online poker proponent Barney Frank. The bill’s sponsor said, “If people make choices about how they want to spend their money, we should give them a choice of playing online poker and then monitor it.”

Next Steps

The New York Assembly has yet to pass online poker legislation and, according to Online Poker Report, there are only two days left in the session, which could stunt the progress made thus far. Moreover, Assemblyman Gary Pretlow called his bill “dead” earlier in the day on Tuesday. Pretlow is spearheading the online poker push in the Assembly.