Barton Poker Bill May be Coming This Week

According to the Washington, D.C. Insider website TheHill.com, Rep. Joe Barton (R – Texas) could introduce his new online poker bill as early as this week.

The bill will start in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, of which Barton is the chariman emeritus and senior ranking Republican.  It is thought that it will be easier for the bill to pass through that committee than it would the House Financial Services Committee, where Rep. Barney Frank (D – Mass.) had previously introduced bills, as Rep. Spencer Bachus (R – Ala.), a noted online gaming opponent, is head of the class there.  Last year, Frank’s bill, HR 2267, did pass through that committee by a 41-22 margin when he was Chairman, it stalled with the November elections and the GOP takeover of the House.  Rep. Fred Upton (R – Mich.), the current Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee has received a “B” rating from the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) for his past support of poker players in his voting record.

A spokesman for Barton revealed a few details of the bill to TheHill.com.  The proposed legislation would require online poker sites to be registered by the gaming commission of a state where gambling is already permitted.  The article uses New Jersey and Nevada as examples, so for now, it is probably safe to assume that “gambling” means casino gambling, not all forms of gambling such as lotteries, otherwise online poker rooms could be registered in almost every state.  In addition, a new federal gaming commission would be created to oversee regulations.

As has been the case with past online gambling bills, individual states would have the ability to opt out of the legislation if they so choose, but of course, in doing so, they would not receive any monetary benefits that would inevitably result from legalization.  At this time, it is not known whether the opt out would be determined by the state legislature or by a statewide vote.

Barton and his staff have collaborated with the PPA on the bill since last month’s PPA Washington, D.C. “fly-in.”  He gave a hint of what was to come at a rally, saying, “We’re hoping we’ll have some good legislative news for you folks later this session of Congress.”

Said PPA executive director John Pappas, “He’s respected, not only with the more socially conservative, but the more fiscally conservative caucus within the House, and brings a really credible voice to this issue … because he understands why regulation makes sense, not only from the perspective of a lawmaker, but also that of a poker player.”

Barton does enjoy playing poker, though not online.

Both Barney Frank and Rep. John Campbell (R – Calif.), who introduced their own online gambling bill in March, have come out in support of Barton and his upcoming attempt at legislation.  Campbell said, “I’m co-sponsoring his (bill), I believe he’s going to co-sponsor mine. If his moves first, I’ll support him.”

Frank wants all online gambling legalized (though his bills have outlawed online sports betting in order to appease the professional sports leagues), but he is at least content with a poker-only bill.  “I’ll go for the broadest bill possible. We have an extraordinary restriction on people’s freedom right now, so I would support the broadest bill possible…but I would take something over nothing.”

In a recent article in the Las Vegas Sun, Barton provided a bit of hope for poker players in the United States, indicating that legalization and regulation aren’t pipe dreams.  “This is not a Republican leadership initiative, but they’re aware of it,” he told the Sun. “It’s a sensitive issue, but an issue where there’s a majority consensus in the House and Senate to make this change.”