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According to the Wall Street Journal, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will make a power play and attempt to pass a poker-only online gambling bill as part of the ongoing lame duck session of congress.
A recent article in the journal states that Reid's staffers have been circulating the legislation and trying to gather supporters for the bill which is heavily backed by casinos. His bill would only allow racetracks, slot machine makers, and casinos to operate online poker sites for the first two years and could be very lucrative for casinos as they continue to expand their services to include online gambling. His bill would also give oversight to the states instead of the federal government with taxes on wagers going to both state and local governments, making it much more likely that the bill will pass.
As expected, many Republicans have expressed their opposition to the bill. Arizona Senator John Kyl, and Alabama Representative Spencer Bachus, sent a letter to Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell strongly encouraging them not to pass the legislation in the lame duck session. When the newly elected Congress is seated on January 3rd there will be a Republican majority in the House, and a slim Democratic majority in the Senate. Should Reid fail to pass online gambling legislation during the lame duck session, it is very possible that legislation related to online gambling could fall by the waste side as Republicans gain control of Congress.
Full details on the developments can be found in the Wall Street Journal article http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704377004575651260044243260.html?mod=WSJ_Election_LeftTopStories
As always, stay tuned to Casinofan/PokerShark for more news and updates.
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