ALBANY — The games are almost back on for players of FanDuel, DraftKings and other daily fantasy sports sites.
Legislation was crafted in both the state Senate and Assembly this week that would allow the sites to resume operations in New York with oversight from the state Gaming Commission.
Sponsors of both measures said they are optimistic a final agreement can be reached before the Legislature ends its session on June 16.
“We’re going to make it work,” said Senate Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee Chairman John Bonacic (R-Orange County), who introduced his bill Tuesday.
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While not identical, the bills created by Bonacic and Assembly Racing and Wagering Committee Chairman Gary Pretlow (D-Westchester) both require daily fantasy sports sites to pay licensing fees to the state and impose an annual tax equal to 15% of their gross revenues after prizes have been taken out.
The bills would also ban the sites from taking action on college and high school games and horse racing.
The bill crafted by Senate Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee Chairman John Bonacic (R-Orange County) would require daily fantasy sports to pay licensing fees to the state and impose an annual tax equal to 15% of their gross revenues after prizes have been taken out.
(MIKE GROLL/AP) “I think this is a good approach to legalizing daily fantasy sports in New York,” said Pretlow, who plans to formally introduce his bill as early as Thursday.
Gov. Cuomo, meanwhile, has yet to take a position on the issue.
“If the Legislature has a proposal, we will review it,” said spokesman Rich Azzopardi.
FanDuel, DraftKings and Yahoo shut down their New York operations in March as part of an agreement with Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who had accused them of violating state gambling laws.
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The agreement was intended to give the Legislature time to address the issue.
The bills would also ban the sites from taking action on college and high school games and horse racing.
"We are seeing major progress and hope the Legislature acts soon to make New York the seventh state this year to pass positive fantasy sports legislation that will clarify the legality of these games and install necessary consumer protection regulations,” Cory Fox, director of policy and government affairs for FanDuel, said in a statement.
“There are more than one million players and nearly 30 fantasy businesses in the state watching and waiting for the legislature to safeguard this growing industry,” Fox added.
Supporters of daily fantasy sports held a rally at City Hall Wednesday to show support for the industry and urge the state to pass legislation allowing it to resume.
They said this is valuable to the economy and will create jobs throughout the state, including jobs in analytics, media companies and all related industries.
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"It can help accelerate the increase of technology jobs within the city, within Brooklyn," said Carlo Scissura, president of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce." Why shouldn't this industry be a part of this renaissance in technology?"