The New York state legislature took a step toward legal sports wagering in the state on Tuesday, when Assemblyman Clyde Vanel (D-District 33) introduced a bill that would create a task to study online sports betting. Only it's unclear what, exactly, the measure (A10322) means for the possibility for New York Sports betting in the near future.

The bill comes a month after a bill was introduced into the state senate that would legalize sports betting in the Empire State.

Tuesday's bill calls for a 10-member legislative task force that would examine policies and best practices regarding online sports betting. Should the bill pass, it would require the task force to report its findings and make recommendations no later than Dec. 31, 2019.

New York Sports Betting Bill Introduced In Assembly Would Establish 10-Member Task Force to Study Online Sports Betting

The previously introduced senate bill, S7900, which would amend state's racing, wagering and breeding laws to allow for sports wagering at OTBs, casinos, video lottery operators at an aqueduct, or racetracks licensed by the state, to offer sports betting on premises or via mobile sports betting platforms.

That bill arrived about six weeks after a hearing in which stakeholders, including an NBA representative, testified at a public senate hearing before the Senate Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee about sports betting. The panel of lawmakers there included Assembly Racing and Wagering Committee Chairman, Representative J. Gary Pretlow.

So the wonder here was when the Assembly/Pretlow would put forth a sister bill to S7900, which we graded as a "win" for the leagues, largely because it would deliver them a monopolistic right to control sportsbook operator data.

Assemblyman Pretlow and Vanel's offices did not immediately respond to SportsHandle's requests for comment.

New York is in a unique position, as it borders New Jersey, the state that brought Murphy v NCAA before the Supreme Court, and Pennsylvania, which has already legalized sports betting. All three states, like two dozen others considering legalizing sports betting, are trying to get ahead of the Supreme Court decision, which may overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, the 1992 federal law effectively bans sports betting in all states except Nevada. A decision is expected before the end of the current Supreme Court session in June.

When in doubt or waiting, create a commission or a task force.

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