Bill Text: NY A02260 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Allows bars and restaurants to organize and manage sports squares pools, provided that they do not take any profit from such pools.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 9-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-16 - referred to racing and wagering [A02260 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A02260-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2260

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 16, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. GANDOLFO, DeSTEFANO, E. BROWN, MORINELLO, BRABE-
          NEC, ANGELINO, MAHER, GRAY, BEEPHAN -- read once and referred  to  the
          Committee on Racing and Wagering

        AN  ACT  to  amend the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law, in
          relation to allowing bars  and  restaurants  to  organize  and  manage
          sports squares pools

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Paragraphs (bb) and (cc) of subdivision 1 of  section  1367
     2  of  the  racing,  pari-mutuel  wagering  and breeding law, as amended by
     3  section 3 of part Y of chapter 59 of the laws of 2021, are amended and a
     4  new paragraph (dd) is added to read as follows:
     5    (bb) "Suspicious wagering activity" means  unusual  wagering  activity
     6  that  cannot be explained and is indicative of match fixing, the manipu-
     7  lation of an event, misuse of inside information,  or  other  prohibited
     8  activity; [and]
     9    (cc)  "Independent  integrity monitor" means an independent individual
    10  or entity approved by the  commission  to  receive  reports  of  unusual
    11  wagering  activity  from  a  casino, mobile sports wagering licensee, or
    12  commission for the purpose of assisting in identifying suspicious wager-
    13  ing activity[.]; and
    14    (dd) "Sports squares pool" means a type of  sports  pool  whereby  two
    15  teams competing in a single sports event are each separately assigned to
    16  the  x  or  y  axis  of  a grid, with a numerical value assigned to each
    17  corresponding column and row of such grid, and where bettors choose  one
    18  or  more cells of such grid as the basis of their wager, with the winner
    19  of such sports pool being determined by the cell or cells of  such  grid
    20  corresponding with the resulting score at the end of, or at a pre-deter-
    21  mined point during, such sports event, and any additional parameters set
    22  by the organizer of such sports pool.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04563-01-5
        A. 2260                             2

     1    § 2. Section 1367 of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law
     2  is amended by adding a new subdivision 17 to read as follows:
     3    17.  A  bar  or  restaurant otherwise operating in compliance with the
     4  provisions of title eight of article thirteen of the public health  law,
     5  and  licensed  to  sell  liquor,  wine  and beer on-premises pursuant to
     6  section sixty-four or sixty-four-a of  the  alcoholic  beverage  control
     7  law,  shall be permitted to organize and manage sports squares pools for
     8  participation by customers of such bar or restaurant; provided that such
     9  bar or restaurant does not take a profit from  the  funds  of  any  such
    10  sports  squares  pool, and that the entirety of wagers placed by bettors
    11  participating in any such sports squares pool are paid to the winner  or
    12  winners  of such sports squares pool. A bar or restaurant organizing and
    13  managing a sports squares pool in accordance with the provisions of this
    14  section shall not be in violation of any other provision of  this  chap-
    15  ter.
    16    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.