Amidst the discussion of Utah Representative Jason Chaffetz’ reintroduction of a bill called the “Restoration of America’s Wire Act” (RAWA), there has been a strange silence on the other side of the equation. For the past seven years, there has been some sort of bill introduced for discussion in Congress that would allow for the licensing of, at the minimum, online poker in the United States. Those efforts over the past four years have been led by Texas Representative Joe Barton but, as the 114th Congress moves further into its legislative schedule, some in the poker community may be wondering what happened to the Texas Congressman.
Although now-retired Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank led charges on the online poker front in the House of Representatives prior to 2010, there seemed to be few others who wanted to pick up the banner for the online game afterwards. In June of 2011, however, Barton stepped up with a bill called the “Internet Gambling Prohibition, Poker Consumer Protection and Strengthening UIGEA Act of 2011” that looked to bring regulated online poker to the U. S. “Poker is an all-American game and it is a game that requires strategy and skill,” Barton said when introducing the bill. “Millions of Americans play poker online…although it is legal to play for money, it’s illegal to process the transactions that allow players to collect their earnings (what the UIGEA prohibited).”
Throughout 2011 and into 2012, Barton’s bill drew very little interest (outside of general hearings on the online gaming subject) from the Congress and, upon the close of the 112th Congress at the end of 2012, his bill died without action. That didn’t stop the Texas representative, however, as (after winning re-election handily) Barton reintroduced his bill, now called the “Internet Poker Freedom Act of 2013,” in July of that year. The 2013 bill was basically the same bill that Barton introduced in 2011 and it actually was able to garner a hearing on its contents, although it met the same fate with the close of the 113th Congress at the end of 2014.
After being re-elected in 2014 – and now the longest serving Texas Representative (Barton entered office in 1985) in the Lone Star State delegation – Barton has earned some gravitas and, perhaps, some respect that his previous legislation would be accepted again. So why hasn’t Texas Representative Joe Barton revived his online poker bill?
There are several potential reasons for Barton’s reluctance to refile the bill (or he could, as previously done, wait until summertime to bring it back – there’s no coincidence that Barton introduced his previous bills during the running of the World Series of Poker). First off, Barton has faced extreme pressures in his district from normally pro-Republican forces that have disagreed with his online poker legislation. In 2012, the state chapter of Stop Predatory Gambling voiced their opposition to Barton’s bill and several religious organizations pushed him to drop his efforts in passing the legislation. Barton saw his toughest challenge to date in the 2012 primaries, where he had to defeat three challengers to his incumbent seat, before defeating his Democratic opponent handily.
Secondly, although Barton has realized that a regulated U. S. online poker scene would generate potentially billions in revenues for federal and state governments, he has been unable to persuade his fellow Congressmen of the importance of passing the legislation. As previously stated, such online gaming legislation has been at least on the table for the past seven years and, in 2013, Barton was even joined by a fellow Republican Representative, New York’s Peter King, who also proposed a bill that would open up for a full online gaming industry in the United States. Perhaps, by this point, Barton isn’t going to mount the uphill battle that it would take to get his bill passed.
Finally, it could be the factor that Barton doesn’t want to step on the toes of fellow Republicans, House members and powerful influencers. With full control of Congress for the first time since 2007, the Republican Party can dictate the course of legislation in said Congress. Currently the train of thought for GOP members is for an outright ban regarding online gaming and poker, hence the legislation (RAWA) introduced in 2014 by Chaffetz and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, an aspiring Presidential nominee in 2016 (Chaffetz reintroduced his version of RAWA early in the 114th Congress; Graham, as of yet, has not pulled the trigger). Thus, Barton may not want to impede the actions of other members of his own party.
There is also the specter of Sheldon Adelson hovering over the entirety of legislation regarding online gaming. Adelson’s efforts to ban online gaming and poker have won over both Chaffetz and Graham (and potentially others) and, with his deep pockets, he could create havoc for anyone who might defy him. Although he has been able to wage the battles previously in his re-election bids, Barton may realize that he doesn’t want Adelson (and his money) backing any opposition to him in future elections.
The intriguing thing is that Barton’s previous legislation would be something that even Adelson might be able to get behind. While Barton’s bill would have opened up a federal regulation of online poker, it would have banned every other form of online gaming (table games, slots, etc.) available. While it isn’t the full ban that Adelson is blindly seeking, it would be something that would be powerful enough to potentially curb online casino gaming in the U. S. for decades to come.
As of now, Joe Barton is remaining silent regarding any plans to bring back online poker legislation in the coming months or over the course of the 114th Congress (in an particularly interesting sidebar, there is no mention of Barton’s bills on his website). When online poker could use a strong proponent in Washington, D. C., Barton seems to have stepped to the side for one reason or another.
