Home / Poker News August 2009 / New Poker Bill on the table: Robert Menendez launches S8309
New Poker Bill on the table: Robert Menendez launches S8309
Posted by: James Carter. - Sun, 2009-08-09 12:56
In the wake of the success of the PPA’s National Poker Week, which has supposedly turned the tide in the battle for legal online poker, New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez tossed another can of gas onto the fire in the shape of his Internet Skill Games Regulation Bill, S8309, which, unlike other similar previous efforts, only addresses the issue of online poker and other games deemed skill-based ones.
Menendez’s bill is quite a bit different form other pro-poker initiatives from other angles as well. S8309 proposes the legalization of online poker in the US under a legal framework which would make it possible for online poker companies to register in the US.
The bill provides details on proposed regulations and for the first time, it floats an actual number when it comes to Uncle Sam’s share of the pie so to speak, a 10% tax on all player deposits.
Consumer protection is also a top priority for the bill, and it offers recommendations on age verification procedures and possible ways to block access for players based in States in which online poker is otherwise illegal.
Interestingly enough, support for the bill is expected from the financial institutions burdened by the UIGEA with the filtering and rejecting of all online poker and online gambling related transactions that should occur between a US citizen and an offshore entity.
Provided it’s well received, The Internet Skill Games Regulation Bill will probably boost Barney Frank’s Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act (HR 2267) which is scheduled for hearing in September.
S8309 will only be discussed after the August recess of the Senate.
Due to its nature, S8309 is definitely something to keep an eye on. It’s not just another chapter in the – thus far – losing war online poker and online gambling industry representatives and their backers have waged, it represents an entirely new approach. If online poker is to be considered a game of skill (and there are several legal precedents to back that assessment up now) then there’s absolutely no reason for it to ever be considered a package deal with online gambling again. If poker is legally recognized as a game of skill, then battling the UIGEA loses its point too, since the UIGEA is only directed against games of chance. Let’s see the poker industry break away from the mold of “online gambling” and let’s see where that new approach lands us.
