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 Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has released an official statement about his bill that could legalize online poker in the U.S. On Wednesday some rumors surfaced that he had removed the internet poker bill from his agenda, but last night he made it abundantly clear that he was going to do everything in his power to get it passed.
"The online poker bill I am working on is good for the country and for Nevada," said Reid. "Internet poker is played by millions of Americans every day in an essentially unregulated environment, meaning no protections for minors, no respect for state law, no assurance that games are fair and honest, and no one to turn to if you're defrauded."
While his stance may seem a little harsh to online gamblers who know that most industry leaders have been in existence for nearly a decade and have incorporated strict mechanisms for preventing minors from joining the sites, the bill would be an important step for the nation. It still remains to be seen whether or not Reid will be able to get the bill through as part of the controversial tax extension deal, but despite some strong objections from many members of the Republican Party, it has a decent amount of bi-partisan support and could very well pass.
As you can imagine many in the online poker industry are excited about the prospect of legalized online gaming, but most are a little nervous about the bill being passed "as is." A provision in the bill would disallow existing operators from applying for a license and only U.S. Based casinos would be allowed to provide their services for the first 15 months.
"The 15-month blackout would be a lot more palatable if it were guaranteed that Full Tilt and Stars would be returning to the market immediately afterwords," said one outraged player. "As it is, it currently looks like there will be an additional two-year delay on them, and I feel wary about big casino-run poker sites that will be of unknown quality. Additionally, I worry that the 15-month blackout may get extended, and am also concerned about my state opting out (though I live in a state that appears to be opted-in by default)."
If Congress had more time to debate on the bill they would, but many feel that this is the last chance that Democrats will have to pass such legislation for quite some time. Some of online poker's fiercest opponents will take control of the House when the new Congress takes their seats in January.
As always, stay tuned to Casinofan for more news and updates.
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