In the latest news on internet poker legislation, Senator Harry Reid has announced there will be no internet poker legalization attached to the major tax legislation proposed according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. In a brief statement he quickly quashed all rumors that the bill would contain the legalization of online poker. This is one of many of Harry Reid’s bills containing poker to be removed or passed without the poker addendum in the last several years. Harry Reid has long been a supporter of a online poker world that would be completely legal in the United States. This comes as a major disappointment to all as it was heavily rumored that online poker legalization could be attached to this bill. It seems online poker once again will have to wait.
Proponents of online poker argue that it could potentially bring millions of dollars in revenue to states with budget deficits. Others call it “UnAmerican” that a game that is so “entwined” in American history is currently illegal in the United States. All proponents seem to agree regulation would bring safety as well as security to the games, removing all doubt of cheating or potential scams. However, opponents of online gaming come from several sides. Some call internet gambling immoral and putting it within such easy reach of problem gamblers would create serious problems within households. Others such as Indian casinos are concerned about being left out on potential earning if legislation was written that prevents them from operating online poker room as well as decreased revenue from their brick and mortar locations.
The current political climate does point to legislation some day, as there is too much potential money to be made to ignore it forever, however the factor the poker world is concerned with is the time frame. In today’s America, politicians are currently gearing up for re-election and the last thing they want to do is jeopardize their re-election by supporting something so fickle as online poker, with issues such as a potential Iran conflict, economic collapse as well as other issues such as gay rights and military spending. It seems the last thing on many politicians’ minds is online poker. At this rate it could be possibly a year, maybe even longer until legislation is finally approved, and even longer after that to get regulations and the poker sites in place.