Assembly Bill A5924

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5924
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 24, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. WOERNER -- read once and referred to the Commit-
   tee on Racing and Wagering
 
 AN ACT to amend the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and  breeding  law,  in
   relation  to  payments  by  off track betting corporations to regional
   harness tracks for out-of-state and out-of-country simulcasting reven-
   ue

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision  2 of section 1017 of the racing, pari-mutuel
 wagering and breeding law, as amended by chapter 174 of the laws of 2013
 and paragraph a as amended by chapter  243  of  the  laws  of  2020,  is
 amended to read as follows:
   2.  [a.  Maintenance of effort. Any off-track betting corporation that
 engages in accepting wagers on the simulcasts of thoroughbred races from
 out-of-state or out-of-country as permitted  under  subdivision  one  of
 this  section shall submit to the commission, for its approval, a sched-
 ule of payments to be made in any year or  portion  thereof,  that  such
 off-track corporation engages in nighttime thoroughbred simulcasting. In
 order  to  be  approved by the commission, the payment schedule shall be
 identical to the actual payments and distributions of such  payments  to
 tracks  and  purses  made  by such off-track corporation pursuant to the
 provisions of section one thousand fifteen of this  article  during  the
 year  two  thousand  two,  as  derived  from  out-of-state harness races
 displayed after 6:00 P.M. If approved by the commission, such  scheduled
 payments  shall  be  made  from  revenues  derived from any simulcasting
 conducted pursuant to this section and section one thousand  fifteen  of
 this article.
   b.  Additional  payments.] PAYMENTS. During each calendar year, to the
 extent, and at such time in the event, that aggregate statewide wagering
 handle after 7:30 P.M. on out-of-state and  out-of-country  thoroughbred
 races exceeds one hundred million dollars, each off-track betting corpo-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD09481-01-5
              

 A. 5924                             2
 
 ration  conducting  such  simulcasting shall pay to its regional harness
 track or tracks, an amount equal to [two percent] THE FOLLOWING PERCENT-
 AGE of its proportionate share of such excess handle: FOR CALENDAR YEARS
 THROUGH  TWO  THOUSAND  TWENTY-FIVE,  TWO PERCENT; FOR CALENDAR YEAR TWO
 THOUSAND TWENTY-SIX, ONE AND ONE-HALF PERCENT;  FOR  CALENDAR  YEAR  TWO
 THOUSAND  TWENTY-SEVEN,  ONE PERCENT; AND FOR CALENDAR YEAR TWO THOUSAND
 TWENTY-EIGHT, ONE-HALF OF ONE PERCENT. THERE SHALL BE NO  FURTHER  ADDI-
 TIONAL  PAYMENT  OBLIGATION  PURSUANT  TO  THIS SUBDIVISION FOR CALENDAR
 YEARS COMMENCING ON OR AFTER JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-NINE. In
 any region where there are two or more  regional  harness  tracks,  such
 [two  percent]  PAYMENT  AMOUNT  shall  be  divided between or among the
 tracks in a proportion equal to the proportion of handle on live harness
 races conducted at such tracks during the preceding calendar year. Fifty
 percent of the sum received by each track pursuant to  this  [paragraph]
 SUBDIVISION  shall be used exclusively for increasing purses, stakes and
 prizes at that regional harness track. For the  purpose  of  determining
 whether  such  aggregate  statewide  handle  exceeds one hundred million
 dollars, all wagering on such thoroughbred races  accepted  by  licensed
 multi-jurisdictional  account  wagering  providers from customers within
 New York state shall be excluded.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.