Home / Poker News March 2012 / The Poker Grapevine – Iowa Poker Bill in Hot Water Already
The Poker Grapevine – Iowa Poker Bill in Hot Water Already
Posted by: James Carter. - Sat, 2012-03-17 15:01
A couple of days ago we broke news that the Iowa Senate had passed a poker bill which would allow brick and mortar casinos and racetracks to offer real money
online poker to the residents of the state of Iowa. The bill was an obvious effort on the part of the state to cash in on the projected $3 to $13 million in revenues that the legalization of the game was estimated to generate. The bill had passed the Senate by a margin of 29 votes to 20, and the next stage would have been for it to move through the House too. Speaker Kraig Paulsen of the Republican side has expressed doubt regarding the matter though. More precisely, he said that there was a “general lack of interest” among GOP caucus members regarding the issue of online poker. The House Speaker’s attitude regarding the bill is a definite bad sign for the initiative, which is now almost guaranteed to run ashore in the House. While the issue had apparently been a hotly debated one in the Senate, little to no of that urgency reached the House, where Paulsen said he hadn’t heard much conversation on it.
The Des Moines Register ran a poll regarding the issue of online gambling and poker, according to which the majority of state residents opposed the legalization of the said activities.
In other news: the list of gaming companies applying for Nevada online gaming licenses has seen two members added to it over the past week: Spielo International and GTECH G2 submitted the required paperwork to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, seeking to obtain Nevada licenses. The two companies belong to the Lottomatica Group, an online gaming entity focused on delivering player-centered gaming products and services.
More importantly, it is rumored that Playtech are also considering applying for a Nevada license. Playtech are the creators of online casino and online gaming software currently used by a large portion of the existing online gambling operators.
