Harry Reid, one of the leaders responsible for drafting the US online poker bill along with Senator Kyl appears to be disappointed with the long hold up in having the bill sent to the floor. When questioned about it recently he blamed the republicans for the delay. He explained that the bill was not able to get the support from the Republican party and that the GOP had not delivered. “At this point, we’ve got none,” he said. To which, Senator Dean Heller, replied, “That’s his answer to everything – blame Republicans.”
Initially, it was hoped that the US online Reid/Kyl poker bill would be able to pass during the lame duck season but this hope was not shared by many. According to a news report published in the Las Vegas Sun: “Poker “is an issue that’s on the front burner for me, for Sen. Reid and Sen. Kyl,” Heller said Tuesday.
The front burner for everybody else is this rules package and the fiscal cliff … it’s just hard getting it to the forefront so that we can make it an issue and get it moving.”
I said on a number of occasions that to bring an Internet poker bill to come to the floor you need 15, 17 Republican votes,” Reid said Tuesday. “At this stage, we’ve gotten none.
The US online poker bill as drafted by Senators Reid and Kyl has not yet been able to go to the floor. As of now, the bill has been criticized and opined on by several scholars, poker organizations and such with suggestions for improvement handed in. All this has called for even more attention to the bill; while some in the poker community just want to move on and get the bill passed, others are more cautious and rightfully want the bill to be properly drafted.
The Poker Players Alliance had recently sent a letter to the Senators asking them to introduce logical and highly recommended changes in the bill so as to facilitate for better revenue growth, fairness and expedite the process. The Poker Players Alliance also has the interests of the overseas providers and tribal casino providers of online poker in mind.
Paul D. Clement, a former presidential Solicitor General, also addressed the senators and wrote that bill had constitutional problems. Indeed, upon reading his letter, it becomes evident that the Reid/Kyl US bill swings in favor of certain groups while denying all newcomers to the online poker industry no opportunity.
