After an initially promising round of talks, the Iowa State Senate has postponed any sort of decision on the legality of internet poker within their borders.
Simply put, the issue seems to have boiled down to time. The bill, known as 458, met with only scant approval during a voting session last month. Since then, the Senate State Government Committee has remained split on the issue. With no resolution in sight, the promising piece of law has fallen victim to a what is known as a “funeral day.”
These deadlines are commonplace in the commonplace in government, and are intended to limit the workload of the legislature.
“I just think people need a clearer picture of the evidence,” said Committee Chairman Democrat Senator Jeff Danielson, “and I don’t think they’re ready in this session to legalize it. So we want to give them the best information possible as we go into next year.”
The decision has been made to research the matter in further detail. Lawmakers will instead request a report from the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, which should pad the pro-poker argument with verifiable statistical data.
Current estimates state that approximately 150,000 state residents participate in real money online poker. This population could, if regulated as proposed, create as much as $30 million in tax revenue.