After slumbering through the first quarter of 2016, the drive for another state to join the three United States locales that have already enacted online gaming or poker legislation grew by one with the addition of the state of Michigan. On Friday, Michigan State Senator Mike Kowall introduced his bill SB 889, or “The Lawful… Read more »
Poker Legislation
Poker Legislation News
Cali PokerStars Coalition Pens Letter in Support of Online Poker Bill
According to OnlinePokerReport.com, the California Assembly Governmental Organization (GO) Committee will be holding a hearing on online poker bill AB 2863 next Wednesday, April 20th. The bill, championed by California Assemblyman Adam Gray, aims to legalize and regulate internet poker California, the biggest prize for the online poker in the United States. Today, the PokerStars… Read more »
RAWA May Have Flat-Lined
Do you hear it? That sucking sound is Sheldon Adelson’s hopes for a United States devoid of online poker dying an embarrassing death. The hole where his RAWA-occupied heart should be will now have to be filled with Andy Abboud’s cell phone prop. Late last week, Gambling Compliance reported that Adelson is shifting his focus… Read more »
Let’s Try This Again: Another California Online Poker Bill Introduced
Online poker is once again back on the table in California, as California State Representative Adam Gray introduced Assembly Bill 2863 (AB 2863) on Friday. The bill’s goal is to legalize and regulate intrastate online poker in the Golden State. This has been tried many, many times before in California over the last several years,… Read more »
Twelve Judges to Hear New Jersey Sports Betting Arguments Wednesday
In August 2015, a three-judge appellate court panel ruled against the state of New Jersey in the state’s ongoing push to legalize sports betting. It was nothing new for the Garden State, which has been trying to join an exclusive club of states where sports gambling is actually allowed for several years, but it was… Read more »
New York Online Poker Bill Passes Through Senate Committee
Good news for poker players out of New York Tuesday as Senate Bill S5302 passed through the Senate Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering by a unanimous 9-0 vote. The bill aims to legalize and regulate “certain interactive poker games that are considered to be games of skill” (read: online poker). This is the first… Read more »
Washington State Online Poker Bill Introduced
The year 2006 was notable in the poker world for how up and down it was. On the one hand, you had the largest World Series of Poker Main Event of all time, when Jamie Gold jawed his way to the championship and an incredible $12 million. But on the other hand, the Unlawful Internet… Read more »
Online Poker Bill Removed from Last Week’s California Gaming Hearing
The California State Assembly Governmental Organization (GO) Committee was expected to hold a hearing on three internet gambling bills last Wednesday and the hearing did go off as planned. To the disappointment of online poker supporters, though, only the daily fantasy sports (DFS) bill was discussed. That bill, AB 1437, which would legalize and regulate… Read more »
California Legislature Starts Off 2016 With Hearing About Online Gaming Bills
For most of 2015, California was at the forefront of the movement to regulate online gaming and/or poker in the United States. The problem was that was the furthest it ever got in the Golden State – discussion – as only one bill passed out of committee and it was little more than a placeholder… Read more »
New Jersey Lawmakers Pondering Casino Expansion
New Jersey casinos outside of Atlantic City are unthinkable, aren’t they? Maybe not. According to an Associated Press article, state lawmakers are currently trying to put together a plan to make exactly this happen. State Senator Ray Lesniak, perhaps the biggest supporter of online poker in the entire state, and State Senator Joseph Kyrillos urged… Read more »
2015 – The Year in Poker, Part 1: Poker and Politics
As we approach the final week of the year 2015, it is time to take a look back at some of the great moments of the year and some of the less popular times. Arguably the dominant story throughout the calendar year was the continued fight in the political spectrum over online poker. The fight… Read more »
Pennsylvania House Online Gambling Vote Delayed
The poker community was anticipating a vote on the legalization of online gambling in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives last week, but it never came and looks like it will be delayed for several more days at the very least. House Bill 649, introduced by Gaming Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. John Payne (R – Dauphin)… Read more »
Pennsylvania House to Vote on Online Gambling Bill Thursday
It looks like Thursday will be the day that we find out if a future for online poker is still alive in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Today was supposed to see a vote on HB 649, a bill which would legalize and regulate online gambling, but the vote was pushed to tomorrow, as lawmakers in… Read more »
Attorney General RAWA Petition Going Down in Flames
Remember when a couple Attorneys General tried to get their colleagues to sign a petition in support of the Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA)? If you read my other article today, you do. At first, it may have seemed a little scary, what with a whole lot of top law enforcement officials potentially getting… Read more »
Nevada Attorney General Refines Stance on RAWA
Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt attempted to appease some of his critics this week by penning his own letter to leaders of the United States House and Senate Judiciary Committees, a sort of supplement to the letter sent by several state Attorneys General supporting the Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA). As we have reported,… Read more »
PPA Executive Director Pens Op-Ed for Morning Consult
The website Morning Consult published an op-ed piece by Poker Players Alliance executive director John Pappas on Monday in which he railed against the Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA) and the upcoming hearing on online poker scheduled for Wednesday in front of the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee. The committee’s chairman is none… Read more »
Evidence Supports Push from Sheldon Adelson in Nevada AG’s Decision to Support RAWA
The news two days ago that Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt would be signing a letter from other AG’s in support of the federal ban regarding online gaming and poker came as a stunner. Not only did it surprise the online gaming and poker communities – and the casinos that support online gaming – but… Read more »
Nevada Attorney General Supports RAWA
Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt told Politico magazine’s contributing editor Jon Ralston that he will sign a letter with other Attorneys General supporting Sheldon Adelson’s Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA). Laxalt explained his position on Ralston’s show, “Ralston Live,” which airs on Nevada Public Broadcasting. When asked to confirm that he is going to… Read more »
Online Gambling Bill Passes Through PA House Committee
Online poker took a huge step forward in Pennsylvania Tuesday as H.B. 649 passed through the state’s House Gaming Oversight Committee. The bill, introduced by Committee Chairman Rep. John Payne in February, would legalize and regulate online gambling in the Commonwealth. In a press release, the Poker Players Alliance said that it “applauds” the Committee… Read more »
Another RAWA Hearing Expected in House of Representatives in December
According to statements out of the Poker Players Alliance, Washington, D. C. might not be done with its tango with online gaming and poker. The PPA tweeted yesterday that “the on again/off again iGaming hearing in Congress is now on again.” According to the PPA, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee,… Read more »
Rep. Chaffetz Not Adding DFS to RAWA
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R – Utah) is not planning to try to kill daily fantasy sports (DFS) along with online poker in his anti-online gambling bill, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Last week, the Review-Journal reported that Chaffetz, Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform as well as a member of the… Read more »
Pennsylvania Online Gaming Hearing Postponed Amid Budget Debates
After postponing a hearing on the subject of online gaming and poker last week due to the uproar over daily fantasy sports (DFS), Pennsylvania legislators once again postponed a planned hearing on the subject on Tuesday, this time due to movement in their logjam over the state budget. Although there was no action expected to… Read more »
Florida Senator Marco Rubio Might Support RAWA Poker Carve-Out
As a gaggle of Republican presidential hopefuls prepare to likely embarrass themselves in tonight’s debate, one actually displayed a smidgeon of reason recently, commenting on a topic that is never brought up in any of these campaigns: online poker. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Florida Senator Marco Rubio gave some consideration to online poker… Read more »
New House Speaker Nominee Paul Ryan’s Choice of Chief of Staff? An Anti-Online Gaming Lobbyist
If you’ve been living under a rock as of late, the U. S. House of Representatives – one-half of the legislative branch of United States government – has been in a state of disarray (and that may be an understatement). Speaker of the House John Boehner, perhaps finally disgusted with the backstabbing from inside his… Read more »
State Attorneys General Petitioning for RAWA
In a letter dated October 19th, 2015, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster and South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson urged fellow Attorneys General to sign-on to a letter asking Congressional Judiciary Committee Leadership to support Sheldon Adelson’s Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA). The letter is addressed to Rep. Bob Goodlatte and Rep. John Conyers,… Read more »