Legislative News for Online Poker in the U.S.

Poker News / Short-Stacked Shamus / 28 August 2011 / Leave a Comment

Recent days have seen several stories emerge concerning possible legislation to license and regulate online poker in the United States, with activity picking up on both the federal and state levels.

On the federal side, much of the talk remains primarily speculative, although some buzz occurred in the poker community following the recent creation of a Congressional "super committee" some think might prove a mechanism by which online poker could be licensed and regulated in the U.S. sooner than later.

The recent "debt ceiling" crisis in the U.S. was concluded in part by the passage of the Budget Control Act of 2011, a provision of which is the formation of a 12-member, bipartisan committee charged with finding areas in which to make cuts and raise revenue in order to reduce the national deficit by $1.5 trillion. Some believe the committee -- called the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction -- might look upon online poker as a potential revenue-producer.

The "super committee" has a late November deadline by which they must forward their recommendations to Congress for a simple "up or down" vote (with no amendments) in December. If a provision to license and regulate online poker happened to be included among the committee's recommendations -- and Congress voted in favor -- such would increase the likelihood for online poker to return to the U.S. more quickly than via the otherwise arduous legislative process of a special bill being proposed and finding its way through a committee and both houses to the president's desk. (Needless to say, that's a big "if.")

Speaking of that arduous process, the House bill proposed by Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) in June that would license and regulate online poker in the U.S., the "The Internet Gambling Prohibition, Poker Consumer Protection, and Strengthening UIGEA Act of 2011" (H.R. 2366), was referred to the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit in late July. It will remain there until the committee discusses it, and if they vote in favor of the bill it will move on to be considered by the entire House.

Meanwhile, a few states continue to knock around legislation that would provide for "intrastate" online poker -- that is, sites providing state-specific online poker available only to those within a given state.

Over the past year, California has been looking at two different bills, one to regulate online gambling, generally speaking, and another that would only allow for online poker. The bills have sparked much discussion, influenced in part by the backing of different Native American tribes with gaming interests in California. However, news this week from the California state senate is that legislation will not be passed during this calendar year, and that the entire situation will be revisited in January 2012.

Meanwhile, in neighboring Nevada a state senate bill was passed in May that allowed the Nevada Gaming Control Board to draft regulations for intrastate poker in Nevada. Those regulations were released on Wednesday, outlining various rules for management and auditing should the state begin licensing entities.

More work is to be done in Nevada, however. A public regulatory workshop has been scheduled in late September to discuss revisions and amendments to the suggested regulations. Also, Nevada will not start offering online poker within its borders until either a federal law is passed specifically allowing for such or the state receives written confirmation from the U.S. Department of Justice that "interactive gaming" would be allowed.

We might soon find out how "intrastate" poker works (or doesn't), however, as the District of Columbia is supposed to begin offering games within the district's borders this week.

In December 2010, the Washington city council approved a budget to create an online poker site to be available only to those within the district's borders. As it happened, it was on April 14 -- just a day before Black Friday -- that the period during which Congress could object to DC's proposed 2011 budget expired, thus paving the way for the country's first try at intrastate (or "intradistrict") online poker.

This week between 20 and 30 "hot spots" in DC hotels and bars are scheduled to become available where those who are interested will be able try out the new online poker games. Depending on how this test run goes, games will be made available throughout the district by year's end.

Few are optimistic -- and many understandably skeptical -- given recent history involving legislation and online poker in the U.S. Nonetheless, such legal machinations have begun to capture the attentions of U.S. online players.

After all, you might say that at the moment it's the only game around.

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