Poker Legislation News
In a move that has come as a huge surprise to online poker affiliates in the United States, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) and the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office have recently gone after affiliates who promote offshore internet poker rooms. The action comes in the form of an April 17th cease-and-desist… Read more »
Sheldon Adelson, with all his riches, is most certainly a force to be reckoned with in the battle for online poker. While it is certainly not chicken counting time, the pro-poker side seems to be doing quite well amongst people and groups not on receiving money from the Las Vegas Sands CEO. Another political group… Read more »
After several years of stonewalling any movement regarding online poker in the state, California’s powerful Indian tribes are now backing the move towards regulation in the state of the industry. The caveat, however, is that the tribes would be the ones to offer the outlet, shutting out other businesses in the state. The Indian tribes,… Read more »
New regulations for the charitable poker industry in the state of Michigan have gone into effect as of this week, but those new rules may be struck down by legislation if the Michigan legislature has its way. According to CBS Detroit, the new regulations that had been suggested by the executive director of the Michigan… Read more »
Over the past week, several different opinions on both sides of the online gaming and poker fight have come to the forefront. Whether they have been for or against the issue, the bottom line is that both sides are demonstrating a level of hypocrisy regarding the subject. Last week, Nevada Senator and Senate Majority Leader… Read more »
In a report published this month by Econsult Solutions, the revenues for the first year of a theoretical regulated online poker regime in Pennsylvania were estimated at $77 million. The report was the product of a study of the state of Pennsylvania’s gaming market, authorized by the Commonwealth’s legislature in December of last year. To… Read more »
While the poker world has its calm before the storm of the start of the World Series of Poker on May 27, the biggest news has been the ongoing discussion on internet gaming and poker and the potential for state and/or federal regulation of the industry. Two different opinion pieces on popular websites fall in… Read more »
There have been plenty of surveys published that have looked at the issue of online gambling and poker. For the most part, however, they have been skewed by those that issue the surveys (a popular gambling company on the positive side and a Republican lobbying group against the issue) as they attempt to influence the… Read more »
Congratulations, New York, you now have twins! Just five weeks after an essentially identical bill was introduced into the State Senate, State Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow (D-Mt. Vernon), who is also the Chairman for the Committee on Racing and Wagering, introduced A09509 in the State Assembly. The bill, which has no official title, would amend… Read more »
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives Democratic Policy Committee is holding a public hearing tomorrow morning to discuss internet gaming. This is not to be confused with a formal government hearing, as the Democratic Policy Committee is not an actual House committee. Rather, it is a committee formed by House Democrats that “serves as a catalyst… Read more »
After apparently stepping back last month to reassess the situation, the battle over the charitable poker room industry has heated up once again in the state of Michigan. This time around, the fight between the Michigan General Assembly and the Michigan Gaming Control Board has led to confusion and controversy over the future of the… Read more »
The current battle over online gaming and poker in the United States is bringing out important political figures on both sides of the issue. What happens, however, if a person wanted to be with one side and was either turned down or better suitors were found? This is the question that must be asked of… Read more »
As the latest battle for online poker heats up on Capitol Hill and in the change purse of Sheldon Adelson, the pro-online poker side has earned more supporters. Recently, both the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries (NASPL) penned letters to federal lawmakers expressing their… Read more »
Although they have previously decided against passing legislation, the Mississippi House Gaming Committee has decided to take a closer look at entering into the online gaming world with a study that will examine online gaming and sports betting. According to the Biloxi-Gulfport Sun Herald’s Mary Perez, the chairman of that committee, Richard Bennett (R-Long Beach)… Read more »
Although he only introduced the bill earlier this week, the author of the bill in front of the New York State Legislature immediately turned around and stated that the bill that he wrote wouldn’t be a high priority for him. On Monday, State Senator John Bonacic (R-Mt. Hope) introduced his bill, SB 6913, with the… Read more »
Count New York as a state that will not want the Graham/Chaffetz anti-online gaming bill to move forward in Washington, D.C. State Senator John J. Bonacic (R-Mt. Hope) introduced legislation on Friday that would legalize and regulate intrastate online poker in the Empire State. The purpose of Senate Bill 6913, as worded in a memo… Read more »
Following Wednesday’s introduction of a bill in Congress by South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham and Utah Representative Jason Chaffetz to reinstate the Wire Act of 1961’s coverage of banning online gaming, several organizations have come out against said legislation. In one case, the opinion was to be expected but, in another, the opinion was a… Read more »
Senator Lindsey Graham (R – SC) and Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R – Utah) introduced the Restoration of America’s Wire Act Wednesday, a bill which would do exactly what it says: reverse the most recent Department of Justice’s interpretation of the Wire Act of 1961. The Interstate Wire Act of 1961 made it illegal to use… Read more »
One the biggest reasons online poker bills have never gotten anywhere in the California legislature is the in-fighting amongst stakeholders, in particular the many Native American tribes that operate casinos around the state. California is so big, though, and there are so many groups that want to be sure their needs are met that these… Read more »
After more than three years of fighting to rein in their state’s charitable poker rooms operations, the Michigan Gaming Control Board suddenly has dropped their proposed new regulations that would have curtailed the industry. During a meeting of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (the Michigan General Assembly’s legislative arm hearing the changes) late this… Read more »
Last month’s “Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement” that was signed by the governors of Nevada and Delaware that marked the beginning of the first interstate online gambling compact in the United States was hailed as a great triumph by the poker community. For those who are against online gaming, though, it was a warning shot that… Read more »
The Illinois General Assembly held a hearing on Wednesday regarding expansion of their gaming laws to include online poker, drawing out a heavy hitter from the Poker Players Alliance as well as a major opponent of such a move. The Illinois Senate Executive Committee welcomed the PPA’s Executive Director, John Pappas, to their hearing, which… Read more »
According to a published report from Gambling Compliance, the senior Senator from the state of South Carolina, powerful Republican Lindsey Graham, will be introducing legislation that looks to put a federal ban on internet gaming and poker. The report from Gambling Compliance, passed along to the Poker Players Alliance membership through Vice President of Player… Read more »
On Friday, the final day bills could be filed with the California Office of Legislative Counsel, two online poker bills were introduced into the California legislature. Both were written with the goal of seeing intrastate online poker legalized and regulated this year. The first (for no other reason other than the fact I chose it… Read more »
In a ground-breaking agreement, Nevada and Delaware, the first two states to legalize and regulate intrastate online gambling, joined forces Tuesday to allow players from either state to play on internet poker rooms based in the other. Interstate gambling compacts are nothing new; many states around the country have combined to grow jackpots in lotteries… Read more »
