A bill introduced last week by Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo would license two land-based casinos and, at the same time, criminalize internet gambling and online poker. Since then, the poker community has fired back, outraged over the language’s inclusion.
On Monday, 12 of the 19 members of the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies approved the bill, according to the Boston Globe newspaper. Two Committee members voted against the legislation, while five abstained. The Globe added that the Massachusetts House of Representatives is expected to take up the bill next week. DeLeo declined to hold a public hearing on the measure.
The language ruffling the feathers of the online poker community appears on page 123 of the bill: “Any person who knowingly transmits or receives a wager of any type by any telecommunication device, including telephone, cellular phone, internet, [or] local area network… or knowingly installs or maintains said device or equipment for the transmission or receipt of wagering information shall be punished.” Simply for playing online poker, Massachusetts residents can be sent to prison for up to two years and receive a maximum fine of $25,000. Talk about a bad beat.
Among those on the ground in the Northeastern state is the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the poker industry’s main lobbying voice. PPA Executive Director John Pappas told Poker News Daily what steps the organization is taking: “The PPA and our state lobbyist are working with Speaker DeLeo and other Representatives to once and for all rid this outrageous provision from the bill. Interestingly, no one is willing to take ownership for its inclusion, but there seems to be broad support for its removal. We are disappointed to be engaged in this battle again, but feel confident we can prevail.” Pappas affirmed that a vote could come down within the week.
Equally outraged at the bill criminalizing internet gambling was Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) Chairman Joe Brennan, who told Poker News Daily, “It’s problematic from a civil liberties point of view. The fact that the language is still contained in the bill is a major point of concern.” Brennan and Pappas have both testified in front of Massachusetts committees in the past. The most recent appearance came in February, when Pappas spoke to the Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, the body that approved DeLeo’s bill on Monday.
On his testimony in Massachusetts, Brennan recalled, “I testified before the state assembly a couple of years ago and said that it’s ludicrous to try to protect this in-state industry by making an activity that is wholly legal offline punishable by two years in prison if you do it online.”
The bill, which has the potential to shake up the gambling scene in the Northeast, has made waves across poker and mainstream news sites. BusinessWeek outlined the bill’s benefits: “Supporters say the bill will boost the state economy by $1.7 billion a year, create 15,000 jobs, and funnel $100 million a year back to cities and towns. Opponents say casinos create more problem gamblers and aren’t an economic magic bullet.” Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has supported the two land-based casinos that are part of DeLeo’s proposal, but is against the provisions installing slot machines at race tracks, which he claims do not create jobs.
Massachusetts contemplating criminalizing internet gambling is ironic given that the industry’s main ally, Congressman Barney Frank, hails from the state. Frank has introduced multiple pieces of legislation to legalize and regulate internet gambling in the United States. Patrick, DeLeo, and Frank are all Democrats, leading Brennan to assert, “Contrary to prevailing belief, the opposition to internet gambling is not a partisan issue. Massachusetts is a Democratic-controlled state with a Democratic governor who proposed this language three years ago. The fact that it still lives on should concern people who have been proceeding under the misguided notion that Democrats are pro-online gambling and Republicans are against it.”
There may be a light at the end of the tunnel, however. On Tuesday, PPA Kentucky State Director Rich “TheEngineer” Muny posted on PocketFives.com, “I just received confirmation that the anti-poker language will be stricken in a technical corrections package as soon as this Friday. We’ve also been asked to ‘call off the dogs.’ It seems our [news] blast was eliciting a lot of calls and e-mails.” As of press time, the PPA had not issued any announcement about a technical corrections package.
