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New Yorkers who enjoy daily fantasy sports gaming can keep playing for now, even though a recent state intermediate appeals court pronounced such gaming illegal in the state.
The decision saw right through a 2016 law which declared that fantasy sports is not really gambling.
The judges said it is gambling, barred by New York’s Constitution. Now it’s time for the state to stop playing games and do the hard work of amending the Constitution to make it clear that gambling is legal in New York. That’s the only way to take the farce out of a legal system that allows bets on horse racing to be placed from phones or computers, allows bets on all other sports to be placed only in person at the upstate casinos, allows slot machines in the state but not table games or poker, and has created a legal disparity between daily fantasy sports wagering and traditional sports wagering that is entirely irrational.
This controversy over daily fantasy sports began in 2015 when then-New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman sent cease-and-desist letters to DraftKings and FanDuel demanding they stop accepting plays from New York. He was right on the law but wrong on the will of the people. These games, in which players create their own athletic rosters for a day or longer and compete against other players for large prizes, are beloved by hundreds of thousands of New York devotees, and of little interest to anyone else.
But they are gambling. And gambling is constitutionally banned in New York, except for the increasingly numerous exceptions where the Constitution has been amended. These carveouts include horse tracks and off-track betting, lotteries, several casinos spread out over the state, sports betting at those casinos, and slot machine parlors on Long Island and all over the state.
The law passed in 2016 to skirt Schneiderman’s ban attempted to argue that fantasy sports was not gambling because it involves a “skill.” Courts across the nation, including in New York, have ruled against that logic with games such as poker, determining that they are gambling.
A better justification, although no sure bet, is that daily fantasy games are sports betting, which would make them legal for on-premise play at the state’s five Indian and four commercial casinos, all of which are hours from the downstate population. And that would not help the vast majority of daily fantasy sports players who place their action on phones and computers because New York hasn’t legalized internet sports betting in its Constitution.
New York is losing tens or hundreds of millions of dollars a year as gamblers wager on sports legally in other states, often driving to New Jersey to place wagers via smartphone. And it’s only a matter of time before daily fantasy sports players here are again cut off by a final court ruling.
Proposal to end automatic raises for Suffolk officials fails
A Suffolk legislator's proposal to end automatic annual raises for elected officials in the county was struck down in committee Wednesday.
Legislator William Lindsay proposed a five-year freeze on the automatic cost of living pay increases. He says it would have saved the county about $100,000 a year. When it came up for a vote, none of the other four legislators on the Government Operations, Personnel, Information Technology and Housing Committee would second the proposal.
"Due to the financial constraints that we are under, I wanted to send a message that we are taking this seriously and there are going to be areas that we have to cut," says Lindsay.
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The legislators who did not vote and would not comment about the proposal are Kara Hahn, Leslie Kennedy, Kevin McCaffrey and Robert Calarco. Each receives $100,000 a year in salary and health benefits for the part-time job.
Lindsay says the automatic raises were put in place back in 1986 in order to side-step annual votes on salary increases. Those who receive the automatic raises include 18 legislators, the county executive, the county clerk, the sheriff, the comptroller and the district attorney.
However, County Executive Steve Bellone froze his own salary at the 2012 rate when he first took office. Legislators Lindsay, Cilmi and Krupski also froze their salaries when elected.
Legislator Lindsay says he will bring the proposal to freeze automatic pay raises up again for another vote before the year ends.
Proposal to end automatic raises for Suffolk officials fails
A Suffolk legislator's proposal to end automatic annual raises for elected officials in the county was struck down in committee Wednesday.
Legislator William Lindsay proposed a five-year freeze on the automatic cost of living pay increases. He says it would have saved the county about $100,000 a year. When it came up for a vote, none of the other four legislators on the Government Operations, Personnel, Information Technology and Housing Committee would second the proposal.
"Due to the financial constraints that we are under, I wanted to send a message that we are taking this seriously and there are going to be areas that we have to cut," says Lindsay.
ADVERTISING
The legislators who did not vote and would not comment about the proposal are Kara Hahn, Leslie Kennedy, Kevin McCaffrey and Robert Calarco. Each receives $100,000 a year in salary and health benefits for the part-time job.
Lindsay says the automatic raises were put in place back in 1986 in order to side-step annual votes on salary increases. Those who receive the automatic raises include 18 legislators, the county executive, the county clerk, the sheriff, the comptroller and the district attorney.
However, County Executive Steve Bellone froze his own salary at the 2012 rate when he first took office. Legislators Lindsay, Cilmi and Krupski also froze their salaries when elected.
Legislator Lindsay says he will bring the proposal to freeze automatic pay raises up again for another vote before the year ends.
