New poker bill introduced in the state of New York

New York State Assemblyman J Gary Pretlow, Chairman or the Committee on Racing and Wagering has introduced a bill that would regulate online poker in the state of New York, which is a virtual replica of the bill introduced in March by Senator John J. Bonacic.

The bill specifies that only Texas Hold’em and Omaha poker would be permitted, and envisages that ten licenses would be awarded by the New York State Gaming Commission, each lasting for ten years, and costing a one-time fee of $10 million. The bill also states that operators and their assets that were involved in offering online wagering within the US after December 31, 2006 are prohibited from use in the state and that a state gambling tax rate of 15% would be levied on gross gaming revenues (GGR), while allowing the state to tight agreements with other states to facilitate the sharing of player pools.

As with Senator Bonacic’s bill, the Pretlow’s bill mandates 180 days for the Gaming Commission to prepare regulations with the first licenses to be issued as soon as reasonably possible thereafter.

Source: Poker Fuse