Online Poker Bill Advances in New York

Online poker regulation took an important step forward in New York this week as a bill that would legalize and regulate the activity passed through the Senate Finance Committee by a 20-8 margin.

The bill will now head for a complete vote by the State Senate, who will discuss and vote on the measure sometime before the end of the legislative session. The bill is formally known as S5302 and was introduced by Senator John Bonacic, and would legalize and regulate the activity, creating revenues for the state's coffers while also protecting players from rogue operators.

The passage was warmly received by US poker gambling body the Poker Players Alliance, whose Executive Director John Pappas said, "The New York legislature should move quickly to pass online poker legislation with strong consumer protections into law this year. Numerous discussions and hearings in the Assembly and the Senate have provided convincing evidence that licensing and regulating Internet poker in the state is in the best interest of consumers, and would also generate significant revenue and jobs in New York."

To boost the bill's odds of success the PPA announced that they will fund an advertising campaign to let the public know of the bill's merits.

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