New York DFS bill advances to imminent new hearing

ll aiming to regulate daily fantasy sports (DFS) in New York will be moved on to the Senate Finance Committee, after being passed at a committee hearing.

S6793A, introduced by Senator John Bonacic in February, was heard by members of the Senate Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee, chaired by Bonacic, and received two yes votes, four yes votes with reservations and one vote against.

This will be an important week for New York i-gaming, and indeed for Bonacic, as S6793A will now be heard by the Senate Finance Committee alongside Bonacic’s online poker bill, S5302B, which was reintroduced to the Senate in January and was unanimously passed at a state committee hearing in February.

That hearing will be held today (Thursday) and a vote will also be taken on a separate DFS bill, A10473, that was introduced by Assemblyman Gary Pretlow in May, and that vote will be taken by the Assembly's gaming committee.

Pretlow has been a keen supporter of regulated online poker in the state, introducing legislation in 2014 and two further online poker bills in January this year, with one being an assembly version and the other being a senate version.

Both DFS bills propose a 15% tax rate on gross revenue.

DFS operators FanDuel and DraftKings have not been operating in New York since March, after reaching a settlement agreement with the state attorney general Eric Schneiderman and the ban will remain in place if DFS is not made law by the state on or before 30 June.

Both FanDuel and DraftKings jointly moved the appellate division to adjourn the pending appeal on the issue to that court’s September term.