Follow the Internet Gambling Hearing on May 19th!

If you’d like to follow the proceedings of the upcoming Internet gambling hearing on the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act of 2010 (H.R. 4976), you can watch a live stream here or follow our twitter hashtag, #gamblinghearing for live updates during the hearing.

The bill, introduced by Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) would ensure taxes and fees are collected from online wagers placed in a regulated Internet gambling environment and would distribute this new revenue to State, Tribal and Federal governments. A significant portion of the federal government revenue would be dedicated to foster care programs.

The hearing, held by the House Ways and Means Committee, will take place on Wednesday, May 19, 2010 at 10:00 AM EST.

Thanks,

Michael Waxman
Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative
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TY, this could be very interesting.

Thanks for the info, if this does pass it will be a huge win for all of us and the game of poker

Thanks for this important information. Glad to see something is still moving forward in Washington.

Humm, wonder how it will all end. Hope to view at least some of it. Thanks for sharing the info.

its about time, government tried to bann alcohal and it didnt work they just lost hour on 100 millions in tax $s and now theyre starting to figure out that you cant ban online gambling, might as well regulate it and get there peice of the pie

I know I'm the only one who is going to write this, but I hope this fails. I'm not a winning poker player, but I am a very winning horse player. I'm so sick of paying taxes on my winnings from that game I can't see straight. I've had to file a W-2G on my return for the past 11 years and it's cost me thousands. I hit a trifecta for $602 and I have to pay taxes?

Right now I can legally play poker online. I can legally deposit to a poker site. I can legally cash a check from a poker site. I admit that I don't know all the details of this bill, but what advantage is there for me in this? If somebody can tell me, please do.

The hearing is now starting at 9:30 AM. Hope to hear your thoughts on Twitter!

Since it's only a discussion, there are no specifics, but I have to wonder how foster children play into this.

Way way before some specific group tries to profit from this, I would think the more important issues is the legality of, and regulation of online gaming.

I think the most we can hope for here is the 'stay of execution' that happens on 6-1-2010 (12 days from now) about the actual implementation of the UEIGA

im glad its moving forward, even though its at a Snails Pace,, our Gov. takes forever to get things done,,,,,,,,,,buck
thanks for the info,

awesome! this could be great thing, and there is a good chance it will get passed cause god knows that our government can sure use the extra money from the taxes

Thanks for that information, I have a feeling there will be many of us waiting to see what happens.

I'll defintely interested in what happens with this bill. Until it's settled, I will only play poker as a casual player. I guess we'll see, but knowing our judicial system, it will probably be put off once again rather than voting for or against it!

thanks for the info

I was folling this on a couple of other web sites. Should be really interesting how the politicians make a mess of it. Over taxed, to death.

bhood, even though you can do those things without being charged with a crime at this point the bank that you cash that check through or make a deposit to a website can be charged with a crime. The banking system is also being deputized (without any funding) to report such deposits and check cashes. This, if fully implemented and followed by all banks in the US, would end most of the play by US citizens in online poker.

Also by forcing the banks to notify them of any checks cashed from such websites they could potentially catch individuals for tax evasion by waiting to see if they report that income and then nailing them. If you think actually paying the taxes up front is bad.... wait till they charge you with tax evasion.

Well after watching the meeting I gotta say I feel a little bit better about the tax issue. The committee said the proposed bill would enact a deposit tax and not a gross receipt tax, although I could not tell if the player or the site would be responsible for paying the tax. I'm sure one way or another the site would find a way to put it back on the player. I'm OK with that as long as they don't tax winnings and just tax your deposit.

I know it would be a longshot for me, since I suck, but knowing that I got super lucky and won a big tourney that I would get all my cash and be done with any tax liability.

You would still be taxed on your winnings. "Individuals would be required to pay annual income taxes on their net winnings...." But at least this is a step away from the Bill Frist bill.

http://theppa.org/press-releases/201...x-bill-051910/

Damn I hate anything Government! lol Didn't read anything, just heard them keep talking about the deposit tax. I thought this was going to be the only tax.

So that link you provided says licensing fee. Usually when I hear that term I think of a yearly flat fee. Does this bill mean the fee will depend upon the amont of deposits and not be a flat fee?

Some committe members were expressing concern that a player would pay a deposit tax whether they played the account or not. So I'm confussed. If the site pays a licensing fee, then why were they concerned about players being taxed with consumption? If the player is taxed at deposit and on winnings, then that is double taxation. Guess I'll just do some more checking, thanks.

bhood, currently you are required to pay tax on any money you receive. That is to the strict letter of the law. If you win money on a scratch off lottery ticket you are supposed to report it and pay the taxes. They have stated that the sites would be taxed on the deposits not the players though.

What are you talking about? The one form of gambling and taxes I'm familiar with is horse racing. The only time you are required to claim winnings is on a ticket that hits at odds of 300-1 or greater. I could win $100,000 on a win bet and not have to report a thing. I've never heard of ANYONE claiming a scratch off. Maybe a major score like a 50k scratcher, but not a $20.

Edit: OK maybe I need a new tax man. The issue of claiming none trigger amounts has never come up. What's even more confusing is that I've had several talks with several IRS agents about gambling taxes and they also have never even asked about none trigger amounts. I guess it's better to be safe than sorry, but if the agents don't even bring it up how much danger could you be in? I know, I know...you don't have to answer this. (hehe)

"Realistically, supporters realize that Congress is highly unlikely to pass legislation this year on the subject, but they hope to lay the groundwork for the future with hearings like the one that took place Wednesday before the House Ways and Means Committee."

"It's pretty clear to me that Congress is not about to legalize, let alone legalize and tax Internet gambling," said Rep. Wally Herger, R-Calif. "There are far more pressing issues we should be focused on."

source: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wires...0691724&page=1

anyone have any updates on how it went today???? im still at work but anxiously waiting to hear what happens

Since when did Congress ever care about more important things?

IMO, it'll be years before Congress cares about something the majority doesn't use, a.k.a. the internet. Did you see Rod Blagojevich try to use a computer on "The Apprentice"? He was a governor and barely knew how to turn it on. Imagine if you were a Congressman/woman. They probably think texting is too advanced technology to even bother with because it's too far over their heads.

I listened to it for short time before I got bored by it. It comes down to this the gov. is not getting there piece of the pie and they want it. Now they need to figure out how to do it.

So is the UIGEA repealed yet?

NOT!

The majority doesn't use the internet? That's really interesting. I thought the VAST MAJORITY of people in the USA use it.

One more thing - and this assumes you are a winning player.

Any taxes you may have to pay if poker were legalized in the USA would be dwarfed by the amount of deposit and reload bonuses, and the increased pool of USA fish online.

You would make orders of magnitude more money provided it were legalized & taxed in the USA.

Well?
what happened...did smth change or the UIGEA is still on for 1 june or smth?

Still set for June 1. There was no chance of it being repealed as it is attached to the Port Safety Act. The only chance is to set up new laws to regulate internet wagering or more specifically poker. And that will still be long after June 1 if it occurs.

I cannot believe what the US government puts it citizens through on online poker. I UK is quite relaxed about it. I feel for your guys.

Bad phrasing?

The major of congress doesn't use it. They are too old and out of touch with technology.

Yes... Thank you for your sentiments. Our government is becoming more and more like European governments in all the wrong ways while becoming less like them in any of the right ways! I wish they would get out of our personal affairs. I think we could benefit from more of the great freedom that our grandfathers and great grandfathers have fought and died for.