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Network for Public Health Law
Constitutional Rights and the Public’s Health

White v. Cuomo

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Overview

White v. Cuomo (Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department, New York, Feb. 6, 2020): A New York appellate court ruled that fantasy sports contests constitute illegal gambling in violation of the state’s constitutional ban on gambling.  State taxpayers, alleging they currently or in the future will be adversely impacted by gambling, challenged the constitutionality of legislative amendments to the Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding Law which authorized interactive fantasy sports (IFS) contests with monetary prizes. Article 14 of the law states that IFS contests do not constitute gambling, provides for consumer safeguards, minimum standards, and the registration, regulation, and taxation of IFS providers. The court held IFS contests with monetary prizes are prohibited by the New York Constitution’s anti-gambling provision. It also concluded that the provision of Article 14 that removad IFS from the criminal code was inseverable and therefore also invalid. Read the decision here.

View all cases in the Judicial Trends in Public Health – March 17, 2020.

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