Following the theme of mrickett’s latest article, recently more good news has come up as it pertains to the future of online gambling, and the many obstacles that have arisen in the past eighteen months.
Recently in Massachusetts the Governor, Deval Patrick, wrote up a proposal. The bill proposed that the state would only have three casinos in the state licensed, therefore making gambling online in the state of Massachusetts completely illegal, and give the state the power to prosecute those caught. Under the bill, anyone caught would be subject to up to a $25,000 fine, and up to two years in prison. Quite obviously, if this bill were to be passed, it would throw up yet another awful obstacle in the way of legitimizing and legalizing online poker in the United States.
The PPA (Poker Players Alliance) and GPSTS (Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society) showed up en masse on Tuesday before the hearing in Boston, in protest of the bill. They all showed up for the same purpose, and with the same idea, which is “Poker is not a crime.”
The bill went to the Massachusetts legislative committee, even before it went to the state House of Representatives. Generally, the legislative committee screens the bills, and makes a recommendation to the House. Their recommendations often hold a great deal of weight within the House, as the majority on the legislative committee are members of the House. Much to the delight of the opposition to the bill, the committee voted 10-8 against the bill, thereby recommending that the bill shouldn’t be passed in the Massachusetts legislation. Now, this doesn’t slam the door on the bill, but it does more or less cripple it, and slow it down considerably.
Stay tuned to FTR Blogs in the coming weeks as the war for and against online gambling continues.