Home / Poker News January 2012 / The Poker Grapevine – Iowa to Jump on the Online Poker Bandwagon
The Poker Grapevine – Iowa to Jump on the Online Poker Bandwagon
Posted by: Jo Martin - Wed, 2012-01-18 16:37
The about-face on the interpretation of the provisions of the Wire Act by the DoJ essentially gave fuel to the legal online poker movement in more ways than one could’ve imagined when the announcement was made. Shortly afterwards though, experts began claiming that unless federal lawmakers made a quick push to come up with and squeeze through a poker bill, history would zoom past them as states would one by one move to legalize the game within their respective jurisdictions.
Apparently, that’s exactly what we’re witnessing today: after Nevada has already passed online poker and gambling legislation and with news of New Jersey mulling a similar move, the state of Iowa might jump on the online poker bandwagon soon too. Iowa Sen. Jeff Danielson is apparently intent on putting together and introducing a poker bill which would make the online version of the game legal within the state limits. Settling with poker playing Iowans only is far from the true goal of the bill though. According to Danielson, legalizing online poker in Iowa would make it possible for the state to link up with other states that have already legalized the game, like DC and Nevada. The bottom line is that the move would create a welcome addition to the growing family of states where online poker is no longer subject to the infamous 2006 UIGEA’s restrictions. In theory, for smaller states where player liquidity is a scarce commodity, linking up with other states would be the answer to generating massive online poker revenues, in a fashion similar to Powerball-like multi-state lotteries.
The feasibility study regarding online poker in Iowa is already done: in December, the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission put together a study regarding the regulation of online poker and the actual setup of a state-wide network, just in case online poker is ever legalized within the state. According to the IRGC study,
on line poker would generate between $3 million and $13 million in tax revenues per year.
