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New York Lawmaker Pens Op-Ed In Support Of Online Poker In State And Across Country

Online Gaming is 'Leveraging Business Opportunities'

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J. Gary PretlowA prominent lawmaker in the Empire State recently wrote an op-ed for Roll Call (published Thursday) that slammed proposals on Capitol Hill to ban online gaming, while also underscoring the fact that New York is currently considering online poker.

The state saw a bill come forward in May, but it won’t be going anywhere this year, unfortunately. An analysis commissioned last year by MGM Resorts International estimated that New York residents could be spending as much as $110 million a year on offshore online poker sites. The study also estimated that New York could see $50 million to $80 million in annual taxes by making New York-licensed intrastate online poker sites available. New York has 19.75 million people.

Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow, a Democrat, is the chairman of the New York State Assembly Racing and Wagering Committee. According to him:

In New York, we are considering bills to allow online poker; similar discussions are taking place among policymakers across the country. These proposals are responsible and reflect the very core of what we should be doing: leveraging business opportunities to help our state. In New York, our lottery helps to fund education — to the tune of $3.11 billion dollars in fiscal 2014-15 alone. That’s 14 percent of our state’s overall funding to educate over 2.7 million students. RAWA would ban online lotteries, risking education dollars in New York and over a dozen other states around the country.

In addition to New York, California and Pennsylvania are considering online poker.