Home / Poker News September 2011 / The Poker Grapevine – Washington Lottery Bill under Scrutiny
The Poker Grapevine – Washington Lottery Bill under Scrutiny
Posted by: Jo Martin - Fri, 2011-09-09 11:24
For online poker players and industry members, something has long been suspicious about the 2010 Lottery Modernization Amendment Act. It was passed extremely fast, and with seemingly no opposition from any angle. The bill barely spent any time in the press limelight and its provisions are suspiciously optimistic and hastily put-together. Poker legend Phil Hellmuth has voiced his reservations regarding the bill too, expressing doubt that online poker network the foundations of which the bill laid, would even be able to generate revenue for the State.
The Examiner has recently put the bill under a microscope and the conclusions were less than encouraging for the online poker crowd.
According to the Examiner editorial, the passing of the bill was indeed plagued by shady dealings. The system which could potentially become the nation’s first working
online poker network, was promoted by Congressman Michael Brown. Brown is apparently working for a law firm though, which represents big gambling interests.
Besides the fact that there’s doubt over whether or not the system would be able to generate revenue, according to the Examiner columnist, there had been no public hearings regarding the bill before it was passed.
In other news: Svenska Spel, the biggest Swedish online poker operator is expanding its roster of professional poker players: Anton Wigg and Michael Tureniec have joined William Thorson onboard. Thorson has become a “poker expert” for the operator last fall.
According to Martin Bengtsson, Svenska Spel’s brand manager, Thorson’s sponsorship deal has managed to convince to operator that it was indeed headed in the right direction and therefore expanding its pro team was well in order.
Bengtsson also said that the two new pros will help the company listen to its players better. They will also be involved in developing and fine-tuning the company’s products, together with Thorson.
