New York governor signs new charity online raffle law
News on 27 Dec 2017
News on 27 Dec 2017
On Christmas Eve New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into state law the Charitable Gaming Act, which represents another step towards the expansion of online gambling because it permits online lottery activity, albeit for charitable causes, along with the use of credit and debit cards to buy tickets.
Reporting on the new law, the Buffalo News notes that it follows the legalisation of online daily fantasy sports passed last year and makes online wagering more familiar to both lawmakers and the public at large.
It may also be useful in preparing the ground for further attempts to legalise online poker as a game of skill in 2018, despite the failure to progress of previous legalisation attempts.
The New York state lottery has also made tentative moves into some games in the online environment.
The Charitable Gaming Act will come into force halfway through 2018, making it easier for charitable raffle organisers to compete with the opening of new land casinos across the state.
The new law has not been without opposition from action groups concerned at what they perceive to be the proliferation of gambling in the state, but major lobbyists for the law such as the NHL Buffalo Sabres franchise claim that it offers opportunities for charitable causes to generate revenue by offering online punters a flutter.
Some lawmakers against the CGA have hypothesised that for-profit companies will be able to contract with non-profit charities to sell raffle tickets online.
“They’ll give (the charities) pennies on the dollar and massively expand online gambling in the state of New York,’’ one Senator said.
Another expressed fears that online raffle ticket purchasers using their credit cards will find themselves besieged with marketing come-ons by internet-based gambling outlets, with consequent increases in problem gambling.
The new Act allows charities to advertise their raffles online as well as selling tickets via mobile and desktop devices. Because it is a state law, sales should be confined within state borders, but media reports do not indicate what geo-location measures will be in force.
The state Gaming Commission will no doubt clarify the position as it is tasked with framing appropriate regulations under the Charitable Gaming Act.
The Commission has already pointed to state rules pertaining to raffles, which state that charities can sell raffle tickets outside its premises provided local governments have approved such games of chance within their jurisdictions. Those sales can occur in the county in which the charity is located or in contiguous counties only if the charity has a raffle-selling license from those localities.
