The Weekly Orbit with Online Poker LegislationTracking Events from Around the Country |
|
Interest for online poker is on a heater of sorts after the Department of Justice letter in December paved the way for states to pursue intrastate industries.
Many in the gaming world see a federal bill drawing nearly dead for 2012, and perhaps unlikely to happen ever. In the near future, states that have legalized online poker could potentially form compacts in order to create larger player pools.
Gaming lawyer I. Nelson Rose predicts that many states will join the revenue party over the next couple of years.
As hearings on Capitol Hill are bogged down by issues of problem gambling and competing casino interests, localized efforts are churning out some results — or at the very least, interesting story lines.
Here’s a weekly overview of what’s happening with the legislative battles across the country:
New Jersey
According to The Star-Ledger, a law professor recently testified that New Jersey could work toward establishing an online gaming industry without putting the issue up to a referendum.
A Senate bill was introduced in late August, but hasn’t made progress. The Assembly version of the proposal has not advanced since it was introduced in mid February and referred to a gaming committee.
California
With 37 million residents, California would be the place best suited for intrastate online poker, as well as a coveted partner for Nevada’s upcoming industry.
A new bill seeking to legalize the activity was introduced into the legislature on Feb. 24, and since then has had no significant action. According to a state website, the bill “[m]ay be acted upon on or after March 26.”
Efforts in the past have fallen short, despite a severe budget deficit in the state.
Hawaii
The island state doesn’t have legalized gambling of any kind, but some lawmakers there are pushing to not only establish a brick-and-mortar industry, but online gaming as well.
A bill to permit Internet poker is still active, despite no significant action since it was first introduced in late January. Like elsewhere in the country, efforts in the past have never panned out.
Iowa
A bill in Iowa to legalize Internet poker passed out of the Senate on Tuesday by a 29-20 margin. The piece of legislation then moved to the House.
However, the Globe Gazette reported Thursday that the House doesn’t plan on taking up the measure.
A poll from The Des Moines Register has shown that the majority of Iowans are opposed to the idea. Conservative estimates say the annual tax revenue from a 22-percent rate could be as little as $3 million.
Mississippi
After just three weeks on the table, a bill attempting to legalize online poker for Mississippi’s successful casino industry hit the muck.
Card Player spoke with the sponsor of the proposal, and he said he plans on trying again.
The main problem in Mississippi, according to Rep. Bobby Moak, is that lawmakers haven’t been following the issue very closely and might not understand the situation with real-money unregulated gaming already existing in cyberspace.
The District of Columbia
Despite progress stalling on Capitol Hill, the local government of the District of Columbia has done the best job fumbling online gaming plans.
The jurisdiction was the first in the nation to legalize the activity, but in February became the first to repeal such a bill. Lawmakers could revisit the plan, but there hasn’t been anything said publicly over the past five weeks.
Nevada
Glitter Gulch is, for the time being, the only place in the country where online poker is a favorite to be implemented in the near future.
Nevada legalized the activity in summer 2011, and since then has finalized rules for the industry and started to look over operator applications. There has been no official word on when the first poker site will be accepting real-money deposits, but some aggressive predictions peg it for late 2012.
Follow Brian Pempus on Twitter — @brianpempus
Copyright © 2001-2024
CardPlayer.com. All rights reserved.
