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Despite the recent US crackdown on online poker, legislation to legalize intrastate poker continues to move forward in Iowa and Nevada. The Iowa State Senate passed a measure to study internet poker and its effects last week, and Nevada Assembly Bill 258 cleared a committee vote and will now move forward to the Nevada General Assembly. Both bills still have a ways to go before they can be passed into law but considering the political climate of the country it's a very good sign that big changes will be made to how the US handles online gambling.
There is one major obstacle politicians will need to overcome in order to keep things moving forward. Anti-gambling advocates are wagering a political war on politicians involved in online gambling legislation trying to make anyone who received campaign contributions from sites such as PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker seem corrupt. They have already forced many politicians to return the money received by the sites and many politicians may be leery about continuing to lobby for the passage of the bills. It is estimated that PokerStars contributed $272,000 overall to Nevada Senators to help campaign for online gambling and while that may sound like a lot, it is nothing compared to what land based casinos fork over to Nevada senators each year.
As always, stay tuned to Casinofan for more news and updates.
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