Senator Michael Ranzenhofer, whose bill aims to classify DFS being a game of ability. He accuses the continuing state of ‘overregulation.’
A new nyc gambling bill introduced this week by Senator Michael Ranzenhofer (R-Erie County) seeks to classify daily fantasy activities as a game of skill, thus exempting the activity from the state’s prohibition of gambling.
The bill, filed on Monday, appears to be in direct reaction to the cease and desist letters delivered to DFS market leaders DraftKings and FanDuel week that is last New York AG Eric Schneiderman.
The AG has said that the two businesses’ operations in the continuing state constitute ‘illegal gambling.’
DraftKings and FanDuel quickly launched separate lawsuits against Schneiderman trying to protect their brand New York business.
DraftKing’s filed a ‘petition and complaint’ contrary to the AG, which aimed to avoid him from, according to the filing, ‘carrying out his threat to banish out of this State a lawful industry beloved by thousands of New Yorkers.’
A brand new York judge on Monday denied DraftKings and FanDuel’s joint request for a temporary restraining purchase that would have prevented any action being taken against them before the matter might be settled in the courts.
The AG acted swiftly and on filed for an injunction to shut down the two operators tuesday.
DFS Carve-out
Into this legal maelstrom actions Senator Ranzenhofer, who believes DFS must be awarded a legal carve out from New York’s gambling prohibition, just as the racetracks and new casino operators happen.
‘Time and time again, brand New York has stood in the way, whether by over-regulation or banning that is outright of tasks being legal and enjoyed in most states across the country,’ complained Ranzenhofer. ‘ This bill further protects the rights of businesses and individuals who wish to engage in this type of commerce in the state of the latest York.’
His bill seeks to amend New York’s concept of a ‘contest of chance’ as one which:
…shall perhaps not consist of participation in just about any fantasy or simulation in any fantasy or simulation sports game or academic game or contest in which (if the game or contest involves a freeslotsnodownload-ca.com team or teams) no fantasy or simulation sports team is founded on the existing membership of a actual team that is an associate of an amateur or professional activities organizations…
Casino Lobby
The AG’s office dismissed the bill as a bit more when compared to a lobbyist’s stunt. ‘DraftKings and FanDuel have actually hired a fleet of lobbyists to convince the Legislature to legalize their gambling operations,’ said AG spokesman Damien LaVera. ‘ so how exactly does that square with one of these companies’ insistence that their web sites are presently legal?’
However, a write-up in this new York Post suggests that Schneiderman, himself, may possibly not be resistant to the influence of lobbyists.
According towards the Post, ny’s casino interests have contributed over $150,000 to his campaign funds since 2010.
The gambling enterprises themselves are not able to offer sports wagering and are also incensed that DFS companies are allowed to run in the state with, so far, complete impunity.
Daily Fantasy Sports Players File Lawsuit Against Credit Card Industry
Day-to-day fantasy activities will be attacked along with credit card companies in a new lawsuit that alleges DraftKings and FanDuel operate unlawful online gambling products. (Image: wkyt.com)
The legality of day-to-day fantasy sports (DFS) has progressed into a debate that is national the last six months, numerous groups petitioning for its own individual interpretation of the law to be deemed correct.
Nevada’s Gaming Control Board ordered market leaders DraftKings and FanDuel to leave town, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman issued cease and desist letters, and a handful of other jurisdictions including federal lawmakers are mulling their next actions.
DFS is becoming enflamed with litigation and debate.
However, the latest lawsuit isn’t directed at the operators alone but also the credit card companies that have processed the millions of dollars in deals.
In a class action suit filed in a Manhattan court, attorney Hunter Shkolnik argues players ‘think they truly are just sports that are playing, but as it happens become a gambling situation.’
Bank Cards Named
Several payment processors are identified with DraftKings and FanDuel in the lawsuit including Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Capital One for facilitating and participating in what they allegedly needs to have known was a unlawful gambling operation.
Shkolnik says his client Yehuda Guttman lost between $5,000 and $10,000 playing daily fantasy competitions. Guttman claims he relied on credit cards to enable his DFS participation and often played on credit.
The claim seeks the restitution of monies lost by all DFS players, a goal that would theoretically put DraftKings and FanDuel on the hook for millions of dollars and send that is likely into bankruptcy.
‘Defendants knew, or should have understood, that the loans made to individuals in FanDuel and DraftKings’ DFS schemes were for illegal gambling plus in violation regarding the UIGEA (illegal online Gambling Enforcement Act), federal and New York State laws,’ the accusation reads.
FanDuel and DraftKings of course disagree, the former saying that Schneiderman is attacking its solutions to ‘get himself some press coverage.’ DraftKings called it a ‘hasty decision,’ arguing the attorney general don’t just take the time to discover why DFS contests are skill challenges.
Tough Case to adhere to
Shkolnik does his best to pinpoint his belief that daily fantasy is gambling in their 45-page suit that is criminal.
Predominantly going off Schneiderman’s ruling that DFS isn’t protected through the UIGEA loophole that allowed for fantasy sports games with regards to was passed away in 2006, Shkolnik opines that customers are unknowingly gambling when being told it’s skill-based.
The lawsuit seems to hint at holding DFS operators and payment merchants accountable for one’s own lack of self-responsibility. Perhaps frivolous in nature, it doesn’t mean Shkolnik’s charges are without merit.
Nevada and the New York attorney general seem to be on the side of the plaintiffs, and extra opinions that are forthcoming states and lawmakers could additionally help fuel the case against FanDuel and DraftKings.
That doesn’t mean the lawsuit won’t receive its fair share of scrutiny from the public that is general. ‘Guy loses thousands gambling and it isn’t their fault,’ observer Peter Flagler commented on the New York Daily News site.
Poker Player Travell Thomas Charged With Operating Fraudulent $31 Million Debt Collection Racket
East Coast poker player Travell Thomas is accused to be the head of ‘the largest debt that is fraudulent scheme ever to be prosecuted.’ (Image: borgataspringpokeropen2012.blogspot.com)
Travell Thomas, a two-time WSOP Circuit ring that is gold, is accused of running the largest fraudulent debt-collecting scheme ever prosecuted.
Borrowing and lending may be component regarding the tradition regarding the live poker scene, but we’re perhaps not sure we’d want to borrow money from Thomas, if the allegations folks Attorney for the Southern District of New York are true.
He appears accused to be the co-owner and president of a company that allegedly coerced more than $31 million in consumer debts from thousands of Americans by ‘making false threats and telling a host of lies,’ based on a statement from the AG’s office.
Thomas himself paid himself in $750,000 in cash from the scheme, while he and their fellow director withdrew approximately $1.4 million from banks and ATMs.
Meanwhile, thousands of dollars were used to buy Thomas’ gambling expenses, since well seats for sports games, his wedding reception and cosmetic surgery for his wife, according to the allegation.
Juicing Balances
It’s alleged that the business’s MO was to claim it absolutely was affiliated with municipality and law enforcement agencies and to suggest falsely that victims had committed criminal acts such as wire or check fraudulence, threatening these with false warrants when they failed to spend up.
It claimed that victims’ driving licenses would be revoked for failure to pay debts.
It really is further accused of inflating victims’ debt balances so that they might ultimately spend a lot more than they owed, a practice referred to by employees as ‘juicing balances.’
‘As alleged, the defendants engaged in what is considered to be the largest debt that is fraudulent scheme ever to be prosecuted, falsely threatening arrest and prosecution of countless Americans, including those who suffered from disabilities,’ Attorney General Preet Bhahara, who simply takes place to end up being the man that brought down online poker in the US on Ebony Friday.
‘The defendants charged today allegedly took ruthless benefit of the desperate situation in which their victims found themselves, using threats and lies to coerce re payment as well as attempting to collect more money than the victims ever owed.’
Facing 20 Years
Thomas happens to be a fixture on the East Coast poker scene since the noughties that are late.
He won his first WSOP Circuit band in 2011, at a WSOP Circuit Caesars Atlantic City occasion, and their second at the venue that is same 2013.
He’s charged, along with co-owner Maurice Sessum and nine other members associated with the ongoing company, with cable fraudulence and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. If convicted he could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Sports Betting Could come online in soon Nj
Nj Assemblyman Ralph Caputo is adamant that the survival of Atlantic City depends on sports gaining legalization that is betting. (Image: meettheleaders.com)
Sports betting in brand New Jersey could have its day in court sometime in February when the usa Court of Appeals for the next District holds an en banc hearing to ascertain perhaps the state has the right to authorize the industry.
The pro and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) outlawed sports betting nationwide except in a handful of states that is predominantly limited to Nevada today.
New Jersey opted to change that, residents voting in benefit of sports gambling last year.
Their state’s legislature passed a bill with Governor Chris Christie authorizing the law in October of 2012, but since then the measure has sat idle into the courts as the NCAA, NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL filed a collective lawsuit against the Garden State.
Two federal rulings have actually sided with all the sports leagues, however nj-new Jersey received a lifeline that is much-needed thirty days once the Third District agreed to reexamine the actual situation.
Verdict Implications
The en banc hearing will bring the majority of the Third Circuit to listen to arguments on nj-new Jersey authorizing sports wagering. The proceedings will most likely take place in February, aided by the panel expected to release its verdict in the weeks after.
Should it returned in favor of their state, nj-new Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement Director David Rebuck says the step that is next be to bring the practice online.
‘ We were advised a while back that the Third Circuit will hear the case en banc,’ Rebuck told Gambling Insider this week. ‘That might be the time that is first we had a small victory in our efforts to date.’
‘ If we winnings that … change the recreations wagering prohibition to permit for sports wagering to be performed on the Internet,’ Rebuck said.
Providing New Jerseyans the capacity to place bets on sporting events online would undoubtedly bring substantial new revenues to the Internet casino operators and deliver the subsequent tax profits to Trenton.
Preserving Atlantic City
Lawmakers are banking on sports gambling as Atlantic City’s saving grace. The east coast casino location has been hurt by nearby states legalizing land-based gambling over the last decade leading to a long and sluggish death of the resort city.
‘We come in desperate need of revolutionary suggestions to combat the continued downturn in New Jersey’s gaming industry in both Atlantic City and at our racetracks,’ Assemblyman Ralph Caputo (D-District 28) stated year that is last. ‘This can be an opportunity to kick-start this industry in a manner that is unprecedented along the East Coast… Sports betting has the potential to be an economic game-changer.’
In the meantime, local politicians in Atlantic City are looking for means to fund the town as vacant and bankrupt casinos continue to fail on paying their obligated property taxes. Casino companies are in favor of payment-in-lieu-of-taxes moving forward to help them offset their properties’ continued devaluation as video gaming revenues unrelentingly decline.