Home / Poker News July 2012 / Tribes Release Internet Gaming Bill Draft Discussion
Tribes Release Internet Gaming Bill Draft Discussion
Posted by: Mark Baldwing - Sun, 2012-07-29 09:11
A couple of days ago we featured a piece about the goings-on in the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, where the tribes were preparing to create a draft of a bill that would reflect their position on the upcoming legalization and regulation of
online poker and gambling. While the bill would admittedly never garner enough support to ever stand a chance of being pushed through the legislative process, its significance was great, in that it would offer a view on what the tribes would like future legislation in the matter to look like. What the above said committee came up with was The Tribal Online Gaming Act of 2012.
The bill is basically a discussion of a draft, so it’s obvious that it will never actually be voted on. According to Sen. Dan Akaka, who personally announced the above said bill, it is the duty of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs to make sure that all tribal voices are heard across the country and that any eventual online gambling bill will be a fair representation of the tribes’ interests.
The concerns covered by the draft discussion included tribal sovereignty the unique circumstances of which need to me maintained in any expansion of gaming – according to the bill.
Most of the bill is dedicated to various grievances and assurances regarding the equality in opportunity between the tribes and the Nevada-based corporate interests. What the tribes basically want is for them to be eligible to receive online poker licenses either as a consortium or as individual tribes under all circumstances. The bill points out the necessity of allowing current tribal regulatory bodies to issue online poker licenses.
On a different note, while they do want to be given equal opportunities, the tribes do not want the same level of taxation that will doubtlessly befall corporate operations. They don’t want the state compacts or the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act re-negotiated in any way.
