Poker Legislation News
When New York State Senator John Bonacic once again introduced a bill to legalize and regulate online poker in the state in late January, it was expected that it would get through the Senate’s Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering fairly quickly. That expectation was correct. On Tuesday, Bonacic’s bill, S 3898, passed by a… Read more »
People in the United States who are 18-years old can drive, can purchase cigarettes, can go to war, can vote…18-year olds are considered adults. There are very few things 18-year olds are not allowed to do. They can’t be President of the United States (though an exception was made recently to allow a child in… Read more »
Sometimes news goes overlooked* for one reason or another or none at all. Perhaps in the case of New Hampshire, the news isn’t really all that big of a deal because it is unlikely nothing will come of it, but hey, it’s still interesting. In early January, Republican Representative Eric Schleien introduced HB562 into the… Read more »
Two Pennsylvania House members filed a House Co-Sponsorship Memorandum on Wednesday, announcing upcoming legislation that they plan to introduce that would, among other gaming efforts, legalize and regulate online gambling in the state. State Senator Jay Costa did the same thing about a month ago; though his was worded differently, we would expect the House… Read more »
PokerStars announced on Tuesday that it has received a license to operate its online casino and poker room in the Czech Republic, the first site to do so under the country’s new gaming laws. The license was granted January 28th and PokerStars.cz should be ready to go within the next few days. “We are very… Read more »
In a highly contentious vote, the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Senate voted to classify poker as a “game of skill.” The future of the Senate bill? That is unknown, but it opens the doors for a plethora of outcomes. The vote in the Senate was as close as you can get. After the polling was complete,… Read more »
Facing increased competition from surrounding states, the Commonwealth of Virginia appears to be slowly making its way toward legalizing at least some sort of brick-and-mortar gambling. On Monday, a bill which would legalize poker and authorize the regulation of poker tournaments passed through committee. The bill will likely be voted upon this week. The bill,… Read more »
As a Georgian for 18 years now (dear lord, I’ve lived here a long time), I have never been able to play poker in a proper casino without flying across the country or driving several hours to a neighboring state. No, this hasn’t ruined my life or anything – I can do without just fine… Read more »
A bill to legalize poker was introduced in Virginia last week by State Senator Louise Lucas. The bill, S 1400, would amend the portion of the legal Code of Virginia that pertains to gambling to make an exception for poker under what is currently considered “illegal” gambling. Right now, illegal gambling is defined as (emphasis… Read more »
On Monday, 888poker closed all Australian accounts for its popular online poker room. Players were given little warning, only receiving an e-mail about the disappointing event on January 13th. The message in the e-mail was as follows: Following a business reevaluation, we’d like to inform you that 888poker’s services are not being offered to players… Read more »
Remember when some in the poker community thought that a Donald J. Trump presidency could be good for online poker? After all, he used to own casinos and has said some mildly not-negative things about some forms of online gambling in the past. Well, hold onto your pants, because a Trump presidency isn’t going to… Read more »
Pennsylvania State Senator Jay Costa (D – District 43) issued a “Senate Co-Sponsorship Memorandum” on Monday, announcing his intention to introduce legislation that will legalize and regulate online gambling in the Commonwealth. It seemed that the Pennsylvania legislature would get online gambling, including poker, legalized in 2016 and, in fact, the House of Representatives did,… Read more »
Prominent online gambling site and sports book William Hill has withdrawn from the Czech Republic market as the result of new internet gambling laws that took effect at the turn of the New Year. In an e-mail to affiliates last week, William Hill indicated that it may ramp back up in the Czech Republic sometime… Read more »
Each year, the Pennsylvania legislature is not only required to devise a budget plan for the state, but is required to have it balance. In 2016, the process of doing this was a mess and with just a few days left before 2016, the budget still doesn’t balance. One of the sticking points revolved around… Read more »
Nervous about potential online gambling-ending legislation, internet gaming operators are making plans to bolt the Australian market. In the past week, the first domino fell, Vera&John, a site that sounds more like a place to order chocolate-dipped fruit than an online casino, told its Australian customers that their accounts will have to be closed. In… Read more »
Tribal online poker and gambling in California looked dead in the water a couple years ago, but now it is official. Judge Anthony J. Battaglia of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California ruled that the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel, the Santa Ysabel Gaming Commission, Santa Ysabel Interactive, and others violated… Read more »
Canada’s telecommunications regulator continued to stand firm against the possibility of an internet service provider-directed ban on online gambling sites Friday, reiterating that it has the final say on what websites – if any – can be blocked. In May, the Québec legislature passed Bill 74, the budget bill. Among everything else that would be… Read more »
Already in preparation for taking office on January 20, Vice President-Elect Mike Pence has quite a bit on his plate. That isn’t stopping a group of state Attorneys General from lobbying on their behalf for a federal ban on online gaming and/or poker in either the current “lame duck” session or once the VP becomes… Read more »
Residents of New Jersey voted overwhelmingly against a ballot measure Tuesday that would allow for the construction of two casinos outside of Atlantic City. With over 2.8 million votes cast, the “No’s” destroyed the “Yes’s” 2,201,768 to 633,034. Casino gambling was legalized in New Jersey in 1976, but restricted them to being located only in… Read more »
The New Jersey Senate passed a bill on Thursday designed to keep billionaire investor Carl Icahn from re-opening the Trump Taj Mahal for five years. The bill, S2575, was affirmed by a vote of 29 to 6 (with 5 not voting) and would amend the portion of the state law that details how someone could… Read more »
A Pennsylvania hearing on internet gambling was supposed to be held yesterday, but as you might be able to tell both from the title of this article and the phrase “supposed to,” that never happened. The goal of the hearing in front of the House Gaming Oversight Committee was to discuss how other states had… Read more »
In what has been a surprising move (considering how late in the legislative session the action comes and the lack of previous interest in the subject), Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas has filed a bill on the Senate agenda that looks to be taking up the action of either banning online gaming and poker or… Read more »
With the time running out on its legislative session, the Pennsylvania state legislature has yet to act on funding their Fiscal Year 2017 budget, leaving in limbo the future of online gaming and/or poker in the state in limbo. As of yet, however, the members of the legislature haven’t exactly tipped their hands as to… Read more »
Last week, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) voted unanimously (four to nil) to create a panel to study online gaming and daily fantasy sports. The special commission will be headed by the chairs of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, Sen. Eileen Donoghue and Rep. Joseph Wagner, and will have its first… Read more »
In May, the Canadian province of Québec passed its budget bill, Bill 74, which is normally very boring to the average person, but this bill contained a twist that outraged a lot of people. Bill 74 authorized the province to require internet service providers (ISPs) to block any online gambling site that was not licensed… Read more »
