American Pokers

While a bill to legalize internet poker will be debated by the Iowa General assembly in January 2012, a report presented by the University of Northern Iowa to the state's Department of Public Health, confirmed that Iowans have a strong interest for online poker and many already gamble online through offshore poker sites.

The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, which recently approved online betting for horse races, is working on a separate report on internet poker that should be ready in December. But many, including the Chairman of the Iowa Senate State Government Committee, consider inevitable the legalization of internet gambling.

Elsewhere, in California, a poll recently revealed that the majority of the golden state's voters support the idea to legalize (and tax) online poker. And the California Online Poker Association, which represents a coalition of tribes supporting online poker regulation, immediately launched a free poker site, calshark.com, to prove the popularity of online poker within the state.

A similar message came from the capital Washington D.C., where the community had finally the chance to discuss the city’s controversial igaming law, when the council organized a series of meetings to educate residents on what internet gaming is and clear up any misconceptions about DC's igaming program.

While civic activists questioned several aspects of DC's online gambling, there wasn't any major moral or philosophical objection against the idea that created malcontent amongst city residents, but how the idea came to be and became law without public hearings.

The general feeling was now that as long as proceeds from internet poker will be used for social services, especially for those that were cut during recent budget cuts, Washington DC will have its internet poker offering up by mid-2012.

Meanwhile Massachusetts was the latest US state (in order of time) that considered changing its gambling laws to introduce internet poker, with local online gambling supporters suggesting Massachusetts had the opportunity to take the lead in the race to legalization as no other state had yet enacted a legislation to authorize and regulate internet poker.

Nevada, where last summer the Gaming Commission published a draft of proposed regulations to license and regulate internet poker, has now accelerated the process and announced that it will start taking license applications starting in February 2012.

Nevada has always stated that to grant online poker licenses they will wait either for a federal law regulating online gambling or for the US Department of Justice to notify the Nevada Gaming Commission that intrastate online poker does not violate federal laws.

In this context, the latest announcement indicates that Nevada wants to be ready to license local companies the very day Congress will legalize online poker.

Just like several major groups are positioning themselves to be ready to quickly pursue online poker in the United States if US laws that legalize and regulate online poker are enacted. These include Bwin.Party, which recently announced a deal with MGM Resorts and Boyd Gaming, Donald Trump, who partnered with hedge fund billionaire and poker aficionado Marc Lasry, and the Station Casinos' Fertitta brothers, which recently acquired online software developer CyberArts.

But according to UK consultants GBGC, poker in the United States will be first regulated at state level and then followed by a federal solution.

When the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade of the House Energy and Commerce Committee recently held the first hearing to explore the opportunity to regulate internet gambling at federal level and what such possibility would entail, they decided that a balance between the advantages and the problems created by internet gambling regulation has to be found before they even consider it.

At a follow up hearing held last week, the discussion centered around the potential implications of legalizing online poker and the instruments available to police a regulated online poker industry in the United States.

Native American tribes demanded to be guaranteed they will be allowed to operate their online gambling sites if the US Congress moves forward with online poker regulation.

But many Native American tribes continue to consider internet gambling a direct threat to tribal casino revenues, just like the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries looks at online gambling as competition for state lotteries.

Recently, in a letter to the the leaders of the deficit-reduction supercommittee, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley asked US Congress to take online poker regulation off the table as he fears online gambling could destroy Maryland's lottery, putting at risk hundreds of millions generated annually and used to fund public education within the state.

Obviously the American Indian tribes and the American lotteries do not agree with the Poker Players Alliance's vision for online poker. According to the Chairman of the PPA, former Senator Alfonse D’Amato, there is a distinction between Americans who participate in the games of chance offered by state lotteries and poker players.

"The Americans we represent, who play online poker, do so because they value the level of skill and thought process involved in winning that frankly doesn’t exist in games of chance. It is simply not true that licensed, online poker will reduce the revenue gained through state lotteries," said D'Amato.

As different opinions continue to reign, the path to online poker regulation remains uncertain. Igaming law expert I. Nelson Rose even said he remained pessimistic about the prospects of an online poker bill to be passed anytime soon.

Despite US lawmakers and the US gambling industry believe that internet gambling can now be effectively regulated from a technological point of view, political differences will make hard for US Congress to agree on a piece of legislation.

But as demand for online poker remains strong, despite recent scandals, as a gambler, at this time, I would put my money on Iowa to be the first state to introduce online poker legislation in early 2012.

Pierluigi Buccioli

Date published: 21 November 2011