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 Democratic Sen. Harry Reid has found a surprising new ally in his fight for legalized online poker. Republican Rep. Joe Barton may be on the opposite end of the political spectrum from Reid but he recognizes the need for federal legislation of the online poker industry and could prove to be just the help that Reid needs to finally make his dreams of legalized online gambling a reality.
Barton, who is chairman emeritus of the Energy and Commerce Committee, will be bringing a new bill, a new committee, and some new allies to the mix. A fan of poker, Barton hopes to officially introduce an Internet poker-only bill this summer.
"I love to play poker," he told the Sun last week, explaining why he decided to push to legalize Internet poker. "When I was in the minority, I told (other lawmakers), ‘you're in the majority, do something about it.' But now I'm in the majority and I'm trying to get it going."
He hopes to get things moving with several strategic moves. First, he will be getting the bill under the Energy and Commerce Committee's jurisdiction by giving authority to license new operators to the Commerce Department. He also hopes to make sure that the legislation takes into consideration recent legal developments including the indictment of the three biggest Internet poker operators, and the fact that several states have taken up measures to legalize online poker.
Enforcement of good gambling practices will be key to drawing bipartisan support necessary to carry the bill. Several big named Republicans have now stated that they are open to the idea of legalized online poker but only if certain safe guards are put into place to ensure that no underage gambling and no abusive gambling takes place.
Poker lobbyists are very excited about Barton joining the fight for legalized poker because they feel that if anyone can bring conservative lawmakers along, it's Barton.
"We think he can bring a very strong coalition of conservative-minded Republicans to support it," said John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance. "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 says he has gotten a "yellow light" from Republican House leaders to proceed with the bill.
"This is not a Republican leadership initiative, but they're aware of it," Barton 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."
To further help matters, he has the support of his chief competitors, Campbell and Frank.
"I'm co-sponsoring his (bill), I believe he's going to co-sponsor mine. If his moves first, I'll support him," Campbell said. "The resistance is still there, but I think there are some minds that are more open now than they were last year."
Frank who would prefer to legalize all forms of online gambling commented on the matter by saying, "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."
Last year, efforts to legalize online gambling came to a standstill when Republicans, led by Minority Whip Jon Kyl of Arizona, took a firm stance against the bill. Now that Kyl has said he will keep a more open mind about poker-only bills, and "consider them carefully as long as they leave in place the broader proscriptions against online betting," things look a whole lot more promising.
Though Reid and Barton claim that they have yet to discuss Barton's bill directly, Barton said his staff has been and will be staying in touch with Reid's office regarding the matter. If the two continue to work cooperatively with each other they should be able to get a bill passed sometime this year.
As always, stay tuned to Casinofan for more news and updates.
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