Post by Logan on Jun 9, 2016 2:42:30 GMT -6
Committee in Albany Reaches Deal to Legalize Daily Fantasy Sports
ALBANY — The chairman of the State Senate’s gambling committee said on Tuesday that legislative leaders in Albany had come to an agreement to legalize daily fantasy sports, potentially calming a fractious legal dispute and setting the stage for even wider acceptance of the popular online games.
Senator John J. Bonacic, who heads the Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering, said late Tuesday that “we have an agreed-upon bill,” though it would still need to be passed by both houses of the State Legislature and signed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, whose office said negotiations were continuing.
Under the parameters of the deal outlined by Mr. Bonacic, companies like FanDuel and DraftKings would pay a $150,000 fee to operate in New York, or 1.5 percent of the previous year’s revenues, and turn over 15 percent of revenues to the state after prizes were awarded to players. The games — in which players create imaginary teams using players in real sports — would be classified as games of skill, not chance, an important legal distinction under a 2006 federal law governing online wagering.
“It’s not gambling,” Mr. Bonacic said.
The deal could mark a détente in a contentious battle that began last fall when the New York State attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, ordered DraftKings and FanDuel, the two biggest companies in the industry, to stop taking bets in the state, saying it was illegal gambling.
Read more: www.nytimes.com/2016/06/08/nyregion/committee-in-albany-reaches-deal-to-legalize-daily-fantasy-sports.html
ALBANY — The chairman of the State Senate’s gambling committee said on Tuesday that legislative leaders in Albany had come to an agreement to legalize daily fantasy sports, potentially calming a fractious legal dispute and setting the stage for even wider acceptance of the popular online games.
Senator John J. Bonacic, who heads the Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering, said late Tuesday that “we have an agreed-upon bill,” though it would still need to be passed by both houses of the State Legislature and signed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, whose office said negotiations were continuing.
Under the parameters of the deal outlined by Mr. Bonacic, companies like FanDuel and DraftKings would pay a $150,000 fee to operate in New York, or 1.5 percent of the previous year’s revenues, and turn over 15 percent of revenues to the state after prizes were awarded to players. The games — in which players create imaginary teams using players in real sports — would be classified as games of skill, not chance, an important legal distinction under a 2006 federal law governing online wagering.
“It’s not gambling,” Mr. Bonacic said.
The deal could mark a détente in a contentious battle that began last fall when the New York State attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, ordered DraftKings and FanDuel, the two biggest companies in the industry, to stop taking bets in the state, saying it was illegal gambling.
Read more: www.nytimes.com/2016/06/08/nyregion/committee-in-albany-reaches-deal-to-legalize-daily-fantasy-sports.html