New York Wraps Up Session Without Passing Poker Legislation

It is another year gone by in the New York state legislature without any major changes made to the legalization of gambling. It appears that legislators are simply unwilling to move the legislation forward. 

There was actually a good deal of legislation that was left to expire this session as the legislature did not seem particularly keen on getting a lot done. There were sports wagering measures which appeared to be easy enough to pass that were also allowed to expire without so much as a hearing on them. That is something that those who are pro-gambling get irritated by year in and year out with state legislatures. 

New York seems to have the mindset that they can always get back to these things at a later time. That is true, but seeding the ground on gambling to other states means that those other states are going to soak up tax dollars that New York could have had for itself. The simple truth is that every dollar that goes into the coffers of another state because of gambling is one fewer dollar that New York is missing out on. Unfortunately, the state legislature does not much seem to care what the outcome of all of this will be. 

Online poker has hit other stumbling blocks as Pennsylvania has had trouble generating interest in taking up a license for the online poker rooms that it says are now legal. They literally had no bids on those licenses in the state. That is when the licenses were to be offered at a discounted bundled rate with online casino licenses also being thrown in. 

These are worrying signs for people who have been interested in seeing the expansion of online poker become a thing. They know that the odds of more states passing laws allowing online poker becomes more difficult with each passing day. Unfortunately, many people feel that that this is the trend in the game at this point. Now that states are finally on board with getting this all legalized it appears that the public has less interest than ever in playing online poker.