New York Online Casinos & Gambling Laws

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Published on September 25, 2018, 3:49 am
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Since 2013, online gambling has been available in certain states within the US. Delaware, New Jersey and Nevada all provide online gambling options with Pennsylvania having passed legislation in late 2017. But what about New York? Does the Empire State offer online gambling as well? Or will they in the future?

If you live in New York or travel there often, it is beneficial to learn more about what online casino gaming is open to you as well as what you are not legally allowed to do. Read on to see just what your options are so you can get started gambling online!

The only legal form of online gambling currently allowed in New York State is off-track betting. Such sites as XpressBet, Twin Spires, BetAmerica and TVG offer such online wagering options. There are some races that take place in the state that are not offered online for wagering in an effort to encourage attendance at the tracks. However, bettors will still find quality action online. For some time, daily fantasy sports were not allowed in the state. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman declared in November 2015 that DFS contests were illegal. Companies that offered such online services as FanDuel and DraftKings were sent packing. However, a stay would eventually be issued to allow the companies to operate once again in the state, allowing DFS options to continue with online services. Over the past few years, discussions have been made regarding legalizing online gaming, with the focus being online poker. However, such efforts have failed to see any legislation created and moved forward in either the Senate or State Assembly. Any online casino, poker site or sports betting site that operates in the state is considered illegal as the are not licensed to offer services. However, there is also no way for such sites to be licensed as no legislation has been passed into law regulating the industry.

The state is actually home to one of the most prolific online gambling busts in the world. In the online poker world, Black Friday is a day that lives in infamy and is connected to the state. On April 15th, 2011, the United States Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, saw Preet Bharara file indictments against three of the largest online poker rooms based in the United States. The brands associated with the case included PokerStars, Absolute Poker and Full Tilt Poker. The charges against the companies stemmed from illegal payment processing. Absolute Poker and Full Tilt were shut down completely due to the action with PokerStars just shutting down services in the US. Full Tilt was eventually bailed out by PokerStars, via a $731 million settlement. The indictments caused a major shutdown of online poker gaming in the states and there has yet to be a major recovery. Online poker is now offered in New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada, and soon in Pennsylvania. In the states that offer it, gamers do take part, but the revenues generated have been far less than estimates.

If New York is to stay in competition with their neighbors, they will need to consider online gambling legislation as other states already have in place. With New Jersey and Delaware quite successful already, and Pennsylvania set to launch this year, the state is already far behind when it comes to neighboring gaming markets. In New York, there is already a player base and online gambling is taking place via unlicensed gaming sites. The state could benefit from revenues generated via online gaming and provide a safer environment for online gamers by creating regulations that operators must meet before offering real money gaming services. With 2018 coming to an end soon, it does not seem that the state will be making in changes regarding online gaming. However, 2019 could be promising, hopefully seeing legislators creating some type of iGaming legislation to get the ball rolling with legalized online casino and poker game play.

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Jonas Bronck is the pseudonym under which we publish and manage the content and operations of The Bronx Daily.™ | Bronx.com - the largest daily news publication in the borough of "the" Bronx with over 1.5 million annual readers. Publishing under the alias Jonas Bronck is our humble way of paying tribute to the person, whose name lives on in the name of our beloved borough.