Mass. Committee Doesn't Recommend Gambling BillBill Would Have Allowed State to Prosecute Online Poker Players |
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A Massachusetts legislative committee will not recommend to its colleagues to vote on a casino bill that, if passed, would not only allow the state to license three casinos, but also levy harsh penalties to anyone who played online poker or gambled online there.
The state’s Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies heard hours of testimony during a public hearing Tuesday on the Massachusetts Casino Expansion bill. Before the hearing, the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) and the Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society (GPSTS) held a rally in Boston Commons protesting the online gambling provisions in the bill that would allow the state to prosecute people who play online poker and threaten them with fines up to $25,000 and up to two years in prison.
Click here to read about the protest.
The Committee voted 10-8 (with one member abstaining) not to recommend that the bill be passed by Massachusetts legislators. The state House began debating the Bill yesterday, but thanks to the recommendation, as well as the fact that House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi is against expanding gambling in Massachusetts, the Bill most likely will fail. Legislators already voted against sending it back to committee yesterday, and a vote on the actual bill is expected shortly.
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