Since the flurry of activity in 2013 that saw three states – Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey – create the first state-regulated online gaming and/or poker sites in the United States, there has been a lull in the action. While several states have mulled over legislation in their individual legislative bodies, nothing else has been passed in the subsequent two years. Something else that has been lacking in this discussion is the power of individuals to join together and potentially have an impact regarding online poker’s outcome.
That was the thought for Martin Shapiro, a gentleman from Clearwater, FL who has been a longtime poker player that was drawn to how little poker players are respected in legislative matters. Shapiro is the founder of a group called iPoker Florida, which was created in June to take the fight for online poker regulation directly to the Florida legislature. The organization’s website, noting that the state of Florida is currently debating several issues regarding gaming in the state, says on their website, “A window of opportunity for Internet poker in Florida has opened. The Florida legislature needs to vote on new gambling legislation in the very near future. We must take action quickly to include Internet poker in Florida.”
Not only is iPoker Florida advocating for regulation of online poker in the state, it has also written full legislation that would help in those efforts. Shapiro sat down with Poker News Daily earlier this week for a discussion on iPoker Florida’s creation, its direction and what it needs to bring success to their campaign to get regulated online poker for the Sunshine State.
PND: Your group is relatively new to the online poker regulation scene. Who had the idea to start the group?
MS: It was wholly my idea as an avid poker player. I have long been following poker legal issues both here and abroad and advocating for the rights of poker players. Although I don’t have any formal legal training, I have a great ability to read and understand the legalese used to write legislation. I found that all of the bills that have been proposed recently in the U.S., both at the federal and state levels, have been greatly lacking in the area of full protections for players. So I took it upon myself to write draft bills myself, first for the federal level a few years ago, and this year for the State of Florida.
My draft bill for Florida is fully flushed out with everything that poker players would want to make a safe and robust playing environment, as well as the regulatory safeguards for vulnerable populations – the underage and compulsive gamblers. My Florida draft bill can also be a model for other states to follow.
PND: How important is it for the organization to present their own draft legislation?
MS: Ours is a rather unique proposition. Draft legislation is usually written by either an industry vested interest or by the staff of a lawmaker who is looking out for them. In our case, the draft legislation is written by and for poker players – the consumer rather than the industry. It is good for the players, it is good for the State and it is good for the industry, providing for a fair and open marketplace. It would be a great accomplishment to get our bill introduced in the legislature and considered by the Florida Congress.
Our legislation also allows inter-jurisdictional agreements and can eventually lead to interstate and international player pooling. Authorizing Internet poker in Florida is an important issue for poker players everywhere. In addition, with approximately 30 live cardrooms currently, adding Internet poker in the state will make it a premier destination for poker players and their families, to play poker and to vacation. (A full look at the iPoker Florida draft legislation can be found here.)
PND: Other than you, who else is involved in the movement for online poker regulation in Florida? Is it a wide-ranging group of people or a niche?
MS: At the moment it is just poker players who have volunteered to help on the campaign. It is completely grassroots, without any moneyed interests backing the group. We have reached out to the Florida pari-mutuels and the Internet poker networks to invite them to join us in a coalition to bring our legislation forward. There has been some expressed interest, but no commitments as of yet. I believe once we have found a legislator to introduce the bill for the next Florida legislative session in 2016, those commitments will arrive.
PND: Would help from organizations outside the state, such as the Poker Players Alliance, or from non-Floridians be of assistance to your group?
MS: We did receive a nice boost at the beginning of our social media campaign when the Poker Players Alliance sent out an e-mail on our behalf to almost 40,000 poker players in Florida. We do also invite non-Floridians to participate in our campaign, from anywhere in the world. Florida is the third-most populous state in the U.S. and has the third-highest yearly poker revenues of any state. If Internet poker is authorized here, it will likely break the current logjam of the next states to join the bandwagon of regulated Internet poker.
PND: Would the Seminole Indians be someone to work with to bring internet poker to Florida?
MS: I’m sure they want Internet poker, but would probably negotiate for exclusivity under their state-tribal compact. I think it would be much better for players to have the pari-mutuel cardrooms offering play on a variety of poker networks than to have a one-network system operated by the Seminole tribe. It is also a much more difficult path to get state authorization for the Seminole tribe to offer Internet poker as it requires a renegotiation of the compact as well as legislative approval. However, I would welcome the participation of the Seminoles in a coalition with the cardrooms and poker networks for an open marketplace system.
PND: What does the current impasse between the state of Florida (in particular Governor Rick Scott) and the Seminole Indian tribe have to do with passing online poker legislation?
MS: I don’t think the success of our legislation is dependent on the outcome of the current state-tribal compact impasse. Currently, the compact with the Seminole tribe has a provision that allows the state to authorize Internet gambling. I don’t expect that to change even if the compact is renegotiated.
One thing is obvious – the pari-mutuels outside of South Florida need help to compete with the Seminole casinos. They would like to get slot machines, but that violates the terms of the compact and is also unlikely under the current Congressional leadership, which is opposed to gambling expansion in the state. Internet poker for the pari-mutuels is an obvious solution, giving them new revenues without expanding the games they offer, as well as bringing new jobs, new government revenues and new tourism to Florida.
PND: Is there going to be a quick resolution to this or will it be a drawn out affair?
MS: Gambling issues in Florida are almost always a drawn-out affair. I believe it is inevitable that at some point Internet poker will be authorized in Florida. I would like to see our bill at least introduced in the 2016 legislative session so that it will be on the books as a model piece of legislation.
On the other hand, Florida has to settle some of the gambling issues, such as the Seminole compact and the expansion of slot machines, within the next year. If our bill is at hand, it could get added into the mix and passed quickly as a solution to some of the issues.
With the work of Shapiro and iPoker Florida, the fight for regulation of online poker is certainly ramping up. To learn more about iPoker Florida and its fight (or to get involved on the right side of the battle), you can visit their website and follow them on Twitter and Facebook.