New York Adds Online Raffle Ticket Sales

New York Governor recently signed online raffle gaming into law, with many wondering if other areas will be next, including casino gaming.

Across the United States, individual states are moving forward with gaming legislation. From casino to poker, lottery games and daily fantasy sports, there are many ways in which states are expanding their gaming options. New York just recently saw the passage of the Charitable Gaming Act, which will lead to online raffle ticket sales. This passage has many wondering if the state will move forward with online gaming in other areas.

Online Lottery Ticket Sales

In the past, legislation that would have allowed for online lottery ticket sales in the state was vetoed by Governor Andrew Cuomo due to the belief that the measure was in violation of the constitution. However, the Governor received the Charitable Gaming Act differently and decided to sign the bill into law.

With the new gaming law, charities will have an easier time in hosting raffles for raising funds. In some raffles, half of the money is provided to the charity organization while the remaining goes towards the winner of the raffle. These types of raffles are not uncommon and are considered gambling. In the past, the winner has to be in attendance to win but now with the new law, the winner does not have to be in attendance.

The new law will take affect in six months and charities will have the ability to raffle their tickets online. Tickets can be sold online with players using a debit card or credit card to make a purchase. Sales will be restricted to locally based customers.

Online Gaming Moves Forward

In New York, online gaming is coming to the fore front. Since 2016, the state has passed a daily sports betting law as well as the latest raffle ticket law. The gaming commission has taken the time to get familiar with online gaming over the past year, looking into geolocation. The process of geolocation ensures that players are located in the state. Daily fantasy sports sites have to use geolocation to offer their services in the state.

For the online raffle ticket sales, it is unclear as to if the state will require geolocation to be used. This service is expensive and may not be worth it to use with the raffle drawings.

Now the question comes to mind if the state will move forward to other areas of online gaming.  Lawmakers in New York have considered online poker several times over the years, but legislation has yet to pass into law. It is expected that the state will consider online poker legislation next year.

The state already has three commercial casinos in operation and one yet to open. In the past, lawmakers stated that they were focusing on having their casinos in operation before considering online gaming. Once the final casino opens for business, we may see New York move forward with online gaming legislation. Neighboring state Pennsylvania recently passed iGaming legislation which would mean stiff competition for New York. The smart move would be for the state to pass legislation to stay competitive.

The casinos of New York will be ready for sports betting however, if SCOTUS decides to rule in favor of New Jersey in the Christie vs NCAA case. A ruling should be made by summer 2018 and if made available, New York will be offering one more element of gaming, this time with sports betting options.