Home / Poker News September 2010 / Crunch time for legal online poker
Crunch time for legal online poker
Posted by: Randy Williams - Sun, 2010-09-19 15:25
What exactly are the odds of legislation making online poker legal, passing before the end of the year? The answer may not be what many in industry would like to hear: not very good. The upside of the deal is that although your chances of hitting that one outer on the river may be better than those of seeing online poker legalized in 2010, these odds are still the best ones the cause has ever had.
Following the passing of Barney Frank’s
online poker bill through the House Financial Services Committee a while ago, the online poker world was engulfed by euphoria. As Congress has just reconvened for its final few weeks of the year, before adjourning for the election, the time for a reality check has arrived. Given the fact that the elections may end up changing the texture of the lawmaking bodies for good, one may even say it’s now or never for poker.
The next step in the legalization process would be to have Rep. Jim McDermott’s bill pushed through the Ways and Means Committee. That however, may run into some pretty daunting obstacles. Unlike Frank, McDermott cannot decide when a bill gets marked up, which means that the entire issue will hinge on Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander Levin.
While the required time-frame does indeed appear extremely tight, according to John Pappas, the executive director of the PPA, a lame-duck session, the need for which is rather obvious on account of the multitude of legal matters that still need to be addressed, and which will probably have Congress working through Thanksgiving and Christmas, may offer a more than welcome break for the champions of the online poker cause. The bottom line: though the odds are slim, it may yet happen this year, provided Barney Frank continues to tread through hell and high water representing the interests of poker players like he has so far.
