According to a recent Gambling Compliance report, Senator Jon Kyl and Senator Harry Reid, agree that a certain online poker bill ought to be passed. John Pappas, executive director of Poker Players’ Alliance (PPA), has been quoted as saying that discussions on this bill are “likely complete.”
In January, Reid informed Gambling Compliance that he was discussing the bill with Jon Kyl, but could say no more about it. The draft of the online poker bill has not yet been released, and the senators have not yet informed when exactly they intend to introduce the bill.
Harry Reid’s attempts to strike a deal with Jon Kyl began back in December 2010. In Feb 2012, Reid tried to attach the bill to a payroll bill, but this did not work.
A few days back, Pappas commented on this bill,
The real deal is going to happen in the Senate. It’s been publicly acknowledged (Sen) Jon Kyl and (Sen) Harry Reid are working on a bill. That bill is done. It’s now about timing.
Pappas also said that Kyl considers the bill to be very important and understands that, to create strong laws against other activities, poker has to be shown as an exception. He also said that, if the Senators fail to do anything, they have to learn from the happenings in Delaware, which are everything.
Last weekend, Delaware legalized its online gaming industry and created a regulatory framework that makes it perfectly legal to play online casino games, online table games, including poker, and online video games and lottery games. Pappas expressed his opinion that it is high time to House takes some action because legalizing the online poker industry at the federal level is of paramount importance.
Joe Barton, representative for Texas, said that if the law makers fail to do something this month, Harry Reid will have to take definite steps after the elections. He also expressed doubts that finalizing anything this month might be difficult because House Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton is facing a challenge in August. He also voiced his opinion that, although he believes there are enough votes to pass the bill in House, the Senate will not pass it until and unless they are sure it has all the votes. He said, “Neither party is going to put this up if it’s going to be a dogfight. It will only be put up if people are willing to vote for it.”
