Home / Poker News December 2010 / Harry Reid asks for vote on poker bill
Harry Reid asks for vote on poker bill
Posted by: James Carter. - Tue, 2010-12-14 05:10
Before we go any further on this issue, let’s clarify one thing: under the provisions of the UIGEA, playing online poker is NOT illegal for US-based players. It is illegal for financial institutions to complete funds transfers to and from online poker and online gambling entities.
Harry Reid’s proposed online poker bill would make online poker (but not online gambling) legal in the US, which means that financial institutions would no longer be bound by restrictions concerning funds transfers to and from
online poker rooms.
In the same time, Reid’s proposed bill would tax revenues generated from online poker and it would restrict the number of entities eligible to receive licenses under the new law, through a series of controversial provisions. These provisions (including a proposed 15-month blackout period) are the exact reason why a large part of the poker community does not in fact support Reid’s initiative.
Even though he failed to have his poker bill attached to the President’s much-debated Tax Cut bill (which would’ve practically guaranteed its passage), Reid seems hell-bent on pushing his bill through in the lame duck session.
The reason why he has his mind set on getting online poker legalized is that he apparently owes a big thank you to several live gambling interests, which have contributed funds to his campaign.
Apparently however, Reid is not the only politician who took money from gambling interests to forward his campaign cause. There are a number of California-based lawmakers who accepted campaign funding from local Indian tribes, that are now also looking forward to carving themselves a piece of the online poker pie.
None of these lawmakers have officially offered an opinion on the Reid bill yet, and it is therefore unclear (although highly foreseeable) how they would vote on the said initiative.
