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Meetings

Racing, Gaming and Wagering: Mar 8, 2011

Calendars

Active List: Jun 21, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 9, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 10, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 14, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 15, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 16, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 21, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 22, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 23, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 24, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 28, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 29, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 30, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 31, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Apr 4, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Apr 5, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Apr 6, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Apr 11, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Apr 12, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Apr 13, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 2, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 3, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 4, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 9, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 10, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 11, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 16, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 17, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 18, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 23, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 24, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 25, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 1, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 2, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 6, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 7, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 13, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 14, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 15, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 16, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 17, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 21, 2011

Votes

Memo

BILL NUMBER:S623

TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law, in relation to antitrust exemptions for horse racing agreements

PURPOSE: To permit racetracks and other racing event producers or retailers to band together to establish agreements governing the scheduling of their races and to establish joint agreements involving the sale and purchase of broadcasting and simulcasting rights.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1: Adds a new Racing & Wagering Law section 113 to grant antitrust immunity to certain agreements among entities licensed by the Racing & Wagering Board to conduct wagering. These entities would be granted anti-trust immunity to develop agreements which coordinate the dates and times of their races and are also given immunity to enter into contracts involving the joint purchase or sale of their broadcasts, simulcasts, and electronic transmissions. All such agreements must be approved by the Racing & Wagering Board. The standard of review is that such agreements must protect the continued viability of the State's horse racing and agricultural industries.

EXISTING LAW: Such agreements may, under current law, violate the State and Federal anti-trust laws.

JUSTIFICATION: Attendance at racetracks and real betting handle in New York has been falling rapidly for the past 40 years. Racetracks need a better way of competing with other gambling and entertainment attractions. This bill allows such racing event producers and retailers to combine forces to make joint arrangements on both the scheduling and the times of their races, or to sell and/or purchase broadcast and simulcast rights. Making such joint cooperative arrangements may lead to better national market penetration of the State's racing products and help to reduce overhead costs and competition among New York's racing producers so that OTB's can effectively market each racetrack's products.

All agreements would need to be approved by the Racing & Wagering Board so that only those agreements that promote the State's legitimate interests in advancing our local horse racing and agricultural industries would be approved. This bill ensures that future joint agreements do not run afoul of the Federal and State anti-trust laws. It is arguable that some joint arrangements between competitive racetracks could pose antitrust questions. The need to preserve the State's ailing racetracks should, however, outweigh any limited anti-competitive effects of any joint marketing or horse race production agreements: The U.S. Supreme Court, under Parker v. Brown, 317 US 341 (1943) grants states the statutory authority to confer immunity for the Sherman Anti-trust Act for certain government sanctioned activities. The second section of this bill is modeled on

 15 U.S.C. Section 1291 which grants anti-trust immunity to broadcasts for certain professional leagues.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2010: S.6197 - Referred to Racing, Gaming & Wagering

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.

LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediate.

Text

STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________

623

2011-2012 Regular Sessions

IN SENATE

(PREFILED)

January 5, 2011
___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  KLEIN  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Racing, Gaming and  Wager-
  ing

AN  ACT  to  amend the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law, in
  relation to antitrust exemptions for horse racing agreements

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  The  racing,  pari-mutuel  wagering  and  breeding law is
amended by adding a new section 113 to read as follows:
  S 113. ANTITRUST EXEMPTIONS. STATE AND FEDERAL  ANTITRUST  LAWS  SHALL
NOT  APPLY TO ANY JOINT AGREEMENT ENTERED INTO, IN CONSULTATION WITH AND
APPROVED BY THE STATE RACING AND WAGERING BOARD, BY OR AMONG  NON-PROFIT
RACING  ASSOCIATIONS,  THOROUGHBRED RACING ASSOCIATIONS OR CORPORATIONS,
HARNESS RACING ASSOCIATIONS OR CORPORATIONS, QUARTER HORSE RACING  ASSO-
CIATIONS OR CORPORATIONS, AND REGIONAL OFF-TRACK BETTING CORPORATIONS TO
COORDINATE THE DATES AND TIMES UNDER WHICH THEY WILL CONDUCT PROGRAMS OF
RACING  AND OFFER PARI-MUTUEL WAGERING. IN ADDITION, SUCH ANTITRUST LAWS
SHALL NOT APPLY TO JOINT AGREEMENTS ENTERED INTO, IN  CONSULTATION  WITH
AND  APPROVED  BY  THE  STATE  RACING  AND  WAGERING  BOARD, BY OR AMONG
NON-PROFIT RACING  ASSOCIATIONS,  THOROUGHBRED  RACING  ASSOCIATIONS  OR
CORPORATIONS, HARNESS RACING ASSOCIATIONS OR CORPORATIONS, QUARTER HORSE
RACING  ASSOCIATIONS  OR  CORPORATIONS,  AND  REGIONAL OFF-TRACK BETTING
CORPORATIONS TO SELL, TRANSFER, ASSIGN OR PURCHASE THE RIGHTS TO  BROAD-
CAST,  SIMULCAST,  ELECTRONICALLY TRANSMIT OR OFFER PARI-MUTUEL WAGERING
ON HORSE RACES.  THE STATE RACING AND WAGERING BOARD SHALL CONSIDER  AND
APPROVE  SUCH  AGREEMENTS  AND  THE TERMS THEREIN TO FURTHER THE STATE'S
INTEREST IN ENSURING THE VIABILITY AND CONTINUED EXISTENCE IN THIS STATE
OF THE HORSE RACING AND AGRICULTURE INDUSTRIES.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD04869-01-1