New York Governor Andrew Cuomo Sanctions DFS Bill Into Law

Just yesterday we reported about the Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) in New York having reached the Governor’s desk for his signature in our PokerGuru 3-Bet. News has now come that Governor Andrew Cuomo (cover image) has signed the bill, thus making DFS games legal in the state of New York.

The bill has been months in developing and had major public approval, especially since Eric Schneiderman, New York State’s Attorney General (AG) had initiated the shutdown of popular DFS sites, DraftKings and FanDuel in November last year.

Defying the order, both sites had continued offering services, causing the AG’s office to deem them illegal.

In March, 2016, proponents of the bill had gotten the two sites to stop services until the bill was legalized and in June the New York Senate had passed the bill 45 to 17 in favor, after which it had come to the Governor for his acceptance.

One of the deciding factors in favor of the DFS bill was the argument that winning in DFS required skill and not luck. Moreover, with the upcoming National Football League and College Football seasons barely a month away, New York was anxious to get the bill passed, what with DFS a popular activity that also brought in major revenues for the state coffers.

Unfortunately, law makers were unable to grasp that poker too was a game of skill, which is why the online poker bill is still languishing in New York. It initially passed the House vote, but failed to get approval from the higher Senate, leading to the state concentrating on the DFS bill instead.