If DraftKings Inc. hadn’t already scrapped its plan to charge winning bettors a small fee in states with higher tax rates, there’s a non-zero chance New York regulators would have killed it anyway — at least in their backyard.
New York State Gaming Commission Chair Brian O’Dwyer said Monday that he “looked with great alarm” at DraftKings’ proposal for a “gaming tax surcharge” in four states, New York included.
DraftKings unveiled the planned fee on Aug. 1 — saying it would be “fairly nominal” and applied only to winning bets — and then killed the idea on Aug. 13 following customer feedback and decisions by its rivals not to follow suit.
