Poker soon to be legal in the US?

House Bill Would Establish Federal Oversight on Online Gambling
If approved, Internet gambling sites could apply for licenses, which would generate revenue for federal and state governments.

Posted: Aug 11, 2010

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A bill currently before the House would create federal supervision for online gambling sites, the Lottery Post reports. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) sponsored HR 2267, which passed his committee two weeks ago.


The House will probably vote on the legislation before the end of this year’s session. If the bill does advance that far, it will be the farthest an online gambling law has gotten on the federal level.


“The good news is this is significant progress,” said Michael Waxman of the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative. “Last week’s vote showed the bi-partisan support is there.”


Part of the allure of HR 2267 is the potentially huge revenue stream such a law would bring to all levels of government. An analysis by the Congressional Joint Committee of Taxations found that regulated Internet gambling could bring in $42 billion over the first decade of the bill’s realization at the federal level. States could see a 6 percent deposit fee generate an additional $30 billion.


“Those figures assume you are starting with an industry where millions of players are already engaged,” pointed out Waxman. “And with regulation, there is an expectation that many more will take up and enjoy this form of recreation. There is a strong possibility that this bill would be included in a larger legislative package as a way to offset the cost of other programs.”


HR 2267 would make sites apply for a federal license, but the bill does not have caps on how many licenses. Regulations would require sites to have safety measures against identity theft, compulsive gambling behavior and access to minors.


Most of the online gamers are poker players, but the measure does not only target poker. The bill also includes online casino games, such as slots, table games and blackjack. However, online sports betting is excluded.


NACS advocated against the legislation, which it believes will authorize the sale of state lotteries over the Internet. Sources have indicated to NACS that the legislation will be amended prior to further consideration to ensure that such authorization is not included in the bill. NACS will be monitoring developments closely.

SOURCE: http://www.nacsonline.com/NACS/News/...ND0811104.aspx

Oh yeah... GR8 news ... lol

"Congressional Joint Committee of Taxations found that regulated Internet gambling could bring in $42 billion over the first decade of the bill’s realization at the federal level. States could see a 6 percent deposit fee generate an additional $30 billion".

Now you can get your calculators out and figure out how much of that ADDED $72 billion you will be paying for your part of the rake... not to mention the addition of individual taxation of all gambling profits.

I hope there are not any online poker players or online casino gamblers that ass-ume the sites will be paying these added costs ...

Look at the bigger picture.

The games will be better and legislation will mean regulation, which we need.

The trend to worry about unless you live in US is the breaking up of the market - .it and .fr. That will kill the game.

Maybe the government will offer some sort of rakebake tax wise, lol.

The press is coming around too. Chicago Tribune said that it was time US allowed online gaming.

I have already thought about this, and how we could potentially pay more rake. However, a deposit fee would be different. Yes, you would pay 6 dollars if you deposited 100, but you would not continue to pay money unless you were losing it and redepositing. This means that if you are winning player you would not pay much more under this system.

We may well get the legality of poker in USA. But, remember the, "Be careful what you ask for because you may well receive it."

I expect it to come with much more "negative" things that we don't have to contend with now. Don't you think that regulations will bring with it greater costs and restrictions?

Some of these may be: 1. Expect "rakes" to increase in order to cover add'l cost by the poker sites. 2. Expect greater "reporting" requirements to government organizations along with penalities imposed. 3. Expect additional "fees" to be imposed by financial institutions involved in the process.

What other negatives will come with this legally being able to play on-line poker in the USA?

Wally

^^^^^ This

We already pay sales tax and some people pay more than 6% to transfer using e-wallet type solutions to get their money online. I think this will hurt only losing players in the long run.

Time will tell. I just want this to be legal so I don't feel like i am a criminal for spending the money I earn playing a game I love.

I actually agree with 2 and 3. What part of number 1 though do you have evidence of? If anything the sites will be happy to have all of the US players back. What additional costs are planned for the sites? I ask because I have not heard of any.

This all sounds great it's just to bad so many hands are in the cookie jar. Looking forward to when it's finally legal to play online poker. The sooner the better.

I would expect site cost to increase due to their additional reporting requirements by government. They will likely be required to send 1099s to each player, etc. I know of no specifics... it is just using common sense....more regulations will require sites to report more and cost will incur. Wally

Don's states have the right to legistate gambling within their borders? Wouldn't the state have the right to say no? Just curious.

As an American who loves his country, this is great news.

As a poker player, this is bad news.

Why? They plan on taxing the companies out of business, or close enough to it. Take operating costs (enough hardware and up to date software to run tens of thousands of tables to hundreds of thousands of players at a time), the pennies on the dollar they're making, the countless spreadsheets and databases and programs and archives and hard drives and computers they need to do what they do.

Factor in web support, lawyers, telephone support, advertising agents, sponsored players, accounting staff, money launderers who go pick up the cash in costa rica, and various partners, such as neteller and whatnot.

Now, if online poker is making over $72 billion in a decade, I'm thinking about going back in time to start up pokerstars. Assuming they invest with money they hold in accounts, which I'm sure would be against regulation, they stand to lose even more money.

The politicians are surely going to have dollar signs in their eyes, and while the super user account scandal of AP/UB will have more serious federal repercussions, not that the average consumer would gain any protection.

I'm guessing online poker has consistantly been a profitable business because players are able to get in there and play, whether it's in the US or outside of it. It's an excellent service, and the silly restrictions put on US players are easily circumvented.

The legislation is a little too little and too late.

It would have been great say... A decade ago. But now your online poker sites are fat and greedy. And such a license makes no sense for them to pursue. Just leave your servers in south america, and make depositing tricky for US players. Easy enough.

I guess I don't fully understand. There is a tax placed on a deposit. This is no different than sales tax I already pay. The law does not require a 1099 because it is not an income tax. Are you suggesting that we will have to pay a tax (fee) when making a deposit and then also pay again on any earnings?

more fish.

Edit: bring them!!!!!111one

I know the state I live in could use the 6 percent and money to keep some of the local schools open. Not only that but it has been around for years and online gaming is getting bigger so the U.S. needs to get their hand in the cookie jar now or just loose more money. Next thing I know legal gambling will be legal and I can buy beer on Sunday lol.

There really sounds like a lot of pros and cons to this becoming realized. I read through some of the posts, and I still have no idea whether this is a good thing or not.

Usually the sites absorb those fees. For example, I can deposit using Moneybookers and withdraw using Moneybookers, they charge a fee but it is paid by the poker site.