Reid Looks to Pass Poker Bill This Month!

[Kalbelgarion]

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is circulating a new bill that would legalize online poker in the United States. Like the UIGEA, Reid hopes to attach his bill to a "must pass" piece of legislation this month, during the lame duck session and the closing days of the 111th Congress.

The new bill is very casino friendly. According to the Wall Street Journal:

Previous attempts at online-gambling legislation haven't moved forward, but casino interests believe that given Mr. Reid's powerful position atop the Senate, he might be able to push the poker measure into another bill, according to people familiar with the discussions.

The legislation would overturn a bill passed in 2006 that bans financial institutions from processing online-gambling transactions. That led publicly traded companies to pull out from operating online sites in the U.S. In their place, offshore sites have gathered an estimated 10 million U.S. poker players, according to the Poker Players Alliance.

According to the draft of the bill reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Reid's office is considering language that would allow only existing casinos, horse tracks and slot-machine makers to operate online poker websites for the first two years after the bill passes, which could limit the ability of other companies to enter the market.

The bill would also outsource oversight to state regulators, another move supported by existing casinos that don't want to see the federal government become overly involved in regulating their industry.

BJ Nemeth has more information on the bill:

1. Unlike Barney Frank's online gaming bill debated in Congress over the summer, Harry Reid's bill would legalize online poker and nothing else. I think that's a best-case scenario for the poker industry, because we want to spread the word that as a skill game, poker is different than most other forms of gambling.

2. This bill would overturn the UIGEA. Obviously, players would need to be able to fund their online poker accounts.

3. For the first two years, online poker sites would only be licensed to existing brick-and-mortar casinos, horse tracks, and slot machine makers. This obviously excludes Full Tilt, PokerStars, PartyPoker and most of the sites we're familiar with -- they'd all have to wait two years to get a license, intended to negate the huge market advantage they've built in recent years. (If this passes, WSOP.com instantly becomes the 800-pound gorilla in the online poker industry.)

4. Gaming control would be handled by the states, not the federal government.

5. "Taxes on wagers" would be collected at both the state and federal level. We'll need to see more details on this point, but ... yuck. It would be much better for the players if they were only taxed when they cashed out winnings.

6. Harry Reid is pushing this bill at the request of brick-and-mortar casinos, which invested heavily in his tough re-election campaign. This is why the bill will be geared more toward live casinos than the current online poker sites.

Like the UIGEA, this bill has the potential to move very fast and could be attached to any bill coming out of the Senate.

[Kalbelgarion]

From the Washington Post:

The bill's chances are uncertain at best, and Democratic staffers are struggling to find a way forward that doesn't bog down other legislation. But backers say the proposal offers the best odds yet for online-poker proponents, who until now have gained little traction despite millions of dollars in lobbying and campaign contributions.

Many conservative groups and GOP lawmakers, however, strongly oppose the measure, seeing it as an official sanction of immoral behavior. Legalizing poker - or any other type of online gaming - is far less likely with Republicans in control of the House next year, according to many legislative aides and lobbyists.

...

Under Reid's proposal, the federal government would issue licenses for Internet poker operators under supervision of the Commerce Department. Approval would be limited to existing casinos, horse tracks and slot-machine makers for the first two years after the bill passes, limiting the ability of overseas companies to enter the market.

Only players inside the United States could be customers of licensed operators for the first three years. The bill would also allow states to decide for themselves whether to allow Internet poker in their jurisdictions, according to a summary issued by Reid's office.

[miaowmiaowchowface]

ill believe it when i see it!