Poker Legislation News
While many pay attention to the ongoing battle regarding online poker – both at the state and federal levels – there are sometimes those governmental moves that influence casino gaming and poker more significantly. In Florida, state legislators are looking to freeze gaming growth in the state, with the House of Representatives passing the first… Read more »
Pennsylvania State Senator Jay Costa, along with co-sponsors Senators Wayne Fontana, Vincent Hughes, and Judith Schwank, introduced Senate Bill 524 on Monday, an overarching gambling bill which includes the legalization and regulation of online poker in the state. Costa previewed the bill in January when he filed a Senate Co-Sponsorship Memorandum, but this is the… Read more »
Australian online poker players, welcome to the hell we have had to deal with in the United States. On Tuesday, the Australian Senate passed the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill 2016, effectively eliminating online poker from the country’s entertainment landscape. The bill was introduced in November by Australia’s Minister for Human Services Alan Tudge mainly as… Read more »
As my colleague Earl Burton wrote a couple days ago, there has been an uptick in online poker regulation activity in a number of states in the last few months. One state mentioned in his piece was Michigan, whose online gaming effort he said “hasn’t moved beyond talking.” But last week, a Michigan legislator did… Read more »
After the decision by the U. S. Department of Justice in 2011 that the Wire Act of 1961 only applied to sports betting, it was expected that the individual states would flock to online gaming. It was thought that most of these would be online lottery sales, but the doors were also opened for online… Read more »
Last year, arguably online poker’s biggest supporter in the New York legislature was the one who put the kibosh on the possibility of the game becoming legal in the state. Now, Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow has expressed confidence that something will get done on the matter this year. In 2016, a bill which would legalize… Read more »
Australian online poker players have been on edge because of the possibility of upcoming regulations that will make their game illegal in the country, but it looks like for now, players will have at least another month to enjoy their pastime. The Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill 2016, championed by Australia’s Minister for Human Services Alan… Read more »
They are back at it again in California. For about the billionth time this century, an online poker bill has been introduced into the state legislature and if we have learned anything, there will be a lot of pouting on both sides leading ultimately to nothing. The bill, Assembly Bill 1677 (AB 1677), also called… Read more »
When New York State Senator John Bonacic once again introduced a bill to legalize and regulate online poker in the state in late January, it was expected that it would get through the Senate’s Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering fairly quickly. That expectation was correct. On Tuesday, Bonacic’s bill, S 3898, passed by a… Read more »
People in the United States who are 18-years old can drive, can purchase cigarettes, can go to war, can vote…18-year olds are considered adults. There are very few things 18-year olds are not allowed to do. They can’t be President of the United States (though an exception was made recently to allow a child in… Read more »
Sometimes news goes overlooked* for one reason or another or none at all. Perhaps in the case of New Hampshire, the news isn’t really all that big of a deal because it is unlikely nothing will come of it, but hey, it’s still interesting. In early January, Republican Representative Eric Schleien introduced HB562 into the… Read more »
Two Pennsylvania House members filed a House Co-Sponsorship Memorandum on Wednesday, announcing upcoming legislation that they plan to introduce that would, among other gaming efforts, legalize and regulate online gambling in the state. State Senator Jay Costa did the same thing about a month ago; though his was worded differently, we would expect the House… Read more »
PokerStars announced on Tuesday that it has received a license to operate its online casino and poker room in the Czech Republic, the first site to do so under the country’s new gaming laws. The license was granted January 28th and PokerStars.cz should be ready to go within the next few days. “We are very… Read more »
In a highly contentious vote, the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Senate voted to classify poker as a “game of skill.” The future of the Senate bill? That is unknown, but it opens the doors for a plethora of outcomes. The vote in the Senate was as close as you can get. After the polling was complete,… Read more »
Facing increased competition from surrounding states, the Commonwealth of Virginia appears to be slowly making its way toward legalizing at least some sort of brick-and-mortar gambling. On Monday, a bill which would legalize poker and authorize the regulation of poker tournaments passed through committee. The bill will likely be voted upon this week. The bill,… Read more »
As a Georgian for 18 years now (dear lord, I’ve lived here a long time), I have never been able to play poker in a proper casino without flying across the country or driving several hours to a neighboring state. No, this hasn’t ruined my life or anything – I can do without just fine… Read more »
A bill to legalize poker was introduced in Virginia last week by State Senator Louise Lucas. The bill, S 1400, would amend the portion of the legal Code of Virginia that pertains to gambling to make an exception for poker under what is currently considered “illegal” gambling. Right now, illegal gambling is defined as (emphasis… Read more »
On Monday, 888poker closed all Australian accounts for its popular online poker room. Players were given little warning, only receiving an e-mail about the disappointing event on January 13th. The message in the e-mail was as follows: Following a business reevaluation, we’d like to inform you that 888poker’s services are not being offered to players… Read more »
Remember when some in the poker community thought that a Donald J. Trump presidency could be good for online poker? After all, he used to own casinos and has said some mildly not-negative things about some forms of online gambling in the past. Well, hold onto your pants, because a Trump presidency isn’t going to… Read more »
Pennsylvania State Senator Jay Costa (D – District 43) issued a “Senate Co-Sponsorship Memorandum” on Monday, announcing his intention to introduce legislation that will legalize and regulate online gambling in the Commonwealth. It seemed that the Pennsylvania legislature would get online gambling, including poker, legalized in 2016 and, in fact, the House of Representatives did,… Read more »
Prominent online gambling site and sports book William Hill has withdrawn from the Czech Republic market as the result of new internet gambling laws that took effect at the turn of the New Year. In an e-mail to affiliates last week, William Hill indicated that it may ramp back up in the Czech Republic sometime… Read more »
Each year, the Pennsylvania legislature is not only required to devise a budget plan for the state, but is required to have it balance. In 2016, the process of doing this was a mess and with just a few days left before 2016, the budget still doesn’t balance. One of the sticking points revolved around… Read more »
Nervous about potential online gambling-ending legislation, internet gaming operators are making plans to bolt the Australian market. In the past week, the first domino fell, Vera&John, a site that sounds more like a place to order chocolate-dipped fruit than an online casino, told its Australian customers that their accounts will have to be closed. In… Read more »
Tribal online poker and gambling in California looked dead in the water a couple years ago, but now it is official. Judge Anthony J. Battaglia of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California ruled that the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel, the Santa Ysabel Gaming Commission, Santa Ysabel Interactive, and others violated… Read more »
Canada’s telecommunications regulator continued to stand firm against the possibility of an internet service provider-directed ban on online gambling sites Friday, reiterating that it has the final say on what websites – if any – can be blocked. In May, the Québec legislature passed Bill 74, the budget bill. Among everything else that would be… Read more »
