Home / Poker News January 2012 / The Prospects of Legal Online Poker in 2012
The Prospects of Legal Online Poker in 2012
Posted by: Randy Williams - Thu, 2012-01-05 14:39
Ever since the 2006 enactment of the UIGEA, the poker world has been in a continuous struggle to repel the infamous bill and to make the game legal. Every year brought new hopes and eventually new disappointments. Never were the hopes higher than during the months and weeks leading up to Black Friday in 2011. All that hope and optimism was blown away on Black Friday which essentially put an end to real money
online poker in the US. Everyone was convinced that together with the indictments handed out by the DoJ, all hope of online poker ever re-gaining credibility and legal consideration were out the window. As it turned out, Black Friday was a blessing in disguise for the game. With the already established online poker operations out of the way, brick and mortar gambling companies in the US suddenly developed quite an interest in the game.
Nevada has already passed regulations on its own turf and according to experts it will be looking to expand those regulations to other states that may be interested in adopting them. Several other states are also considering passing similar legal measures. The DoJ has finally clarified the provisions of the ancient Wire Act, essentially giving a green light to intra-state legalization and regulation efforts. The DoJ’s said move was viewed by many an expert as a impetus for a federal-level law that would come sometime in 2012 legalizing and regulating all online poker activity in the US.
Everything considered, the odds of an online poker law passing in 2012 are good. There is adversity to defeat, but with a re-branding of the effort and with some sly maneuvering around the obstacles represented by some Capitol Hill lawmakers, things may yet begin happening. Although we have an election year coming up, which isn’t particularly favorable for the passing of a controversial law, something called the Internet Gambling Prohibition, Poker Consumer Protection and strengthening UIGEA Act is indeed a bill many lawmakers could safely cast their votes for.
