Texas Republican Plans to Draft Online Poker Bill

The Hill reported on Tuesday that Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) is planning to soon introduce online poker legislation, in an effort to pass such a bill this legislative session.

At a press conference outside the Capitol, Barton reportedly said that he has spoken to the leadership of the House Energy and Commerce Committee about online card playing and that the Poker Player’s Alliance has been a consultant on the measure.

“Poker is a game of skill,” Barton said during the press conference with poker pro Greg Raymer standing behind him. Barton also indicated that lawmakers were receptive to holding a hearing on his version of a online poker bill sometime this summer.

Online poker would not be Barton’s only ongoing battle to regulate cyberspace. He is the co-sponsor of H.R. 1895, the Do Not Track Kids Act of 2011, a bipartisan bill which would extend, enhance and update the provisions relating to the collection, use and disclosure of a child’s personal information.

Interest in federal legislation for online poker has been gaining bipartisan momentum since the Department of Justice and the FBI last month shut down the three largest online poker sites operating within the U.S., and after a Monday crackdown by a federal court in the state of Maryland brought down 10 additional online wagering operations. Barton’s online poker bill would likely have to compete with at least two other pieces of legislation.

Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr., President and CEO of the American Gaming Association recently told Card Player that the organization is working on a bill which will likely be drafted and introduced to Congress in the next month or so. Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts), who had his first attempt on an internet poker bill fail, is currently working with John Campbell (R-California) on another piece of legislation. Although, the AGA has called Frank and Campbell’s measure a “dead-end bill.”

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