How would you feel if it suddenly became legal to play poker online? Would you still make the trip to your favorite casino or card club for the fun and fellowship, or would you place your bets on your home computer? If two Los Angeles assemblymen have their way, you may soon be faced with that choice.
Gambling has been an on again - off again activity in the USA almost as long as there has been a USA. It was completely banned in the 1890’s, and then, in the roaring 20’s it began making a comeback. It was finally fully legalized in Nevada in 1931. Over time riverboat gambling and then state lotteries and then Native American casinos became legal throughout the nation as states sought to tap into this profitable source of revenue. There are only two states currently that forbid all forms of gambling: Hawaii and Utah. The others all allow some forms of wagering and forbid others. You might be interested in a site called gambling-law-us.com where you can find out the laws of any particular state you want to know about.
The first online casino began operation in 1995, offering 18 online games. It quickly caught on. Conservative estimates have the profit from cyber-gaming growing from $1 billion in 1997 to $10.9 billion in 2006. In 2006, Congress banned online gambling by passing UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006) which prohibited wire transfers for betting. Together with the Wire Act which banned sports betting, these two laws were interpreted as prohibiting most online gambling. In 2011 the US Department of Justice reversed the Federal Ban on Internet Gambling, allowing states to decide whether to legalize the practice within their borders. Since then Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware have all approved rules allowing online state-regulated poker sites. Eight other states, according to Fox News, have bills in the works. California is one of them.
California Democrat assemblymen, Mike Gatto and Reginald Jones-Sawyer, have each introduced bills, AB 9 and AB 167, each called the Internet Poker Consumer Protection Act of 2015, hoping to expand online gaming to tribal gaming facilities and licensed card rooms, but not to racetracks. Both bills ban games banked by the house, including slots, video poker, and table games. Poker is viewed differently because it involves some measure of skill where players can earn winnings in the long term. If adopted, an action which would require a two thirds majority to pass, a deposit of $5 million dollars would be required to apply toward future taxes. Licensees would have to have had 3 years of gaming experience, reduced from 5 years in earlier drafts, a requirement which would exclude some newer casinos from participating. The bills also ban internet cafes. All operations and all gamblers would have to be located in California. Another problem to be resolved is the “bad actors” clause in Gatto’s bill, which could potentially ban the Morongo Band of Mission Indians from operating a site because of association with companies who had ignored the federal ban from 2006 through 2011.
If you are interested in learning more about the progress of California Internet gambling, you can read the full text of both bills and statements by the sponsors at www.californiaonlinepoker.com.
Gambling has been an on again - off again activity in the USA almost as long as there has been a USA. It was completely banned in the 1890’s, and then, in the roaring 20’s it began making a comeback. It was finally fully legalized in Nevada in 1931. Over time riverboat gambling and then state lotteries and then Native American casinos became legal throughout the nation as states sought to tap into this profitable source of revenue. There are only two states currently that forbid all forms of gambling: Hawaii and Utah. The others all allow some forms of wagering and forbid others. You might be interested in a site called gambling-law-us.com where you can find out the laws of any particular state you want to know about.
The first online casino began operation in 1995, offering 18 online games. It quickly caught on. Conservative estimates have the profit from cyber-gaming growing from $1 billion in 1997 to $10.9 billion in 2006. In 2006, Congress banned online gambling by passing UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006) which prohibited wire transfers for betting. Together with the Wire Act which banned sports betting, these two laws were interpreted as prohibiting most online gambling. In 2011 the US Department of Justice reversed the Federal Ban on Internet Gambling, allowing states to decide whether to legalize the practice within their borders. Since then Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware have all approved rules allowing online state-regulated poker sites. Eight other states, according to Fox News, have bills in the works. California is one of them.
California Democrat assemblymen, Mike Gatto and Reginald Jones-Sawyer, have each introduced bills, AB 9 and AB 167, each called the Internet Poker Consumer Protection Act of 2015, hoping to expand online gaming to tribal gaming facilities and licensed card rooms, but not to racetracks. Both bills ban games banked by the house, including slots, video poker, and table games. Poker is viewed differently because it involves some measure of skill where players can earn winnings in the long term. If adopted, an action which would require a two thirds majority to pass, a deposit of $5 million dollars would be required to apply toward future taxes. Licensees would have to have had 3 years of gaming experience, reduced from 5 years in earlier drafts, a requirement which would exclude some newer casinos from participating. The bills also ban internet cafes. All operations and all gamblers would have to be located in California. Another problem to be resolved is the “bad actors” clause in Gatto’s bill, which could potentially ban the Morongo Band of Mission Indians from operating a site because of association with companies who had ignored the federal ban from 2006 through 2011.
If you are interested in learning more about the progress of California Internet gambling, you can read the full text of both bills and statements by the sponsors at www.californiaonlinepoker.com.
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