U.S. Senator Introduces Internet Poker Bill, S. 3616

• Thank you for introducing S. 3616, the Internet Skill Game Licensing and Control Act
• As a poker player and a voter, it is important to me that our government takes steps to regulate Internet poker in the U.S.
• Regulation will provide necessary safeguards to protect adult consumers, children and problem gamblers. Moreover, significant federal and state revenue can be gained through a U.S. regulated industry.
• S. 3616 is a positive development and the poker community applauds you for introducing it.

Source: Poker Players Alliance

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Thank God, I am glad Obama is a poker player as it seems he will be our next President

Only a matter of time people before Internet Poker is 100% legal in the USA. Remember my idea for www.Poker.gov? Anyways I sent in my kudos to the NJ Senator.

Sweet news. Kudos to that guy is indeed necessary.

This is good news.

ok a TY was sent by me,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,b uck

It is good news....but..../sigh.....this will definately be a partisan thing....and will probably not get out of committee....not to mention...the ummmm lesser paid districts with democratic politicians might poopoo this too....heaven forbid we allow people who are poor to spend money on something they cannot afford.....

I remember when they wanted to put casinos in Detroit...it DID finally go through, but the detroit politicians sure didn't like it....Too many of our people are going to spend money that they don't have..blah blah blah....

And John McCain is a gambler, spotted from time to time in Las Vegas Casinos.
I truly don't think the president matters, poker will in some way become legal in a year or two. However, there will be strings attached (regulations and taxes) that might make us long for the day when our problem was getting a deposit to stick.

I know this may be an unpopular thing here, but shouldn't they worry about the economy first?

Do not worry, our politicians have time for both issues and will be taking money from PPA and Freddie and Fannie with both hands. We have the best politicians that money can buy!

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That Act looks interesting. Might have been smarter if they had taken that route in the first place, rather than UIGEA.

The thing that may cause some head-scratching is that poker site operators will be responsible for deducting tax from cash-outs and paying it over to the U.S. Treasury.

Poker sites in UK jurisdiction (which includes a lot of the big ones) could meet the rest of the requirements very easily, because they are near-identical to those of our government, but none of them will have any mechanism for tax-collecting, because poker winnings are tax-free here.

Internet poker is now and was legal before the UIGEA in most states. It is a state law issue.

The UIGEA was, I believe, designed to prime us for the idea of FEDERAL oversight and regulation.

This bill is the next logical step. Be careful what you wish for.

This does have something to do with the economy. Politicians are looking for ways to tax people - which means they'll give licenses to online poker sites assuming they get taxes from their US players and they verify no more underage players. this will undoubtedly mean higher rake, BUT with the increased competition due to the opening up of the channels, it can be a definite point for one room to another to offer lower rake structures.

Sweet if nothing else i want to have an easier way to get my money in and out quickly...

I doubt they'll be responsible for this.....they WILL be responsible to report....Here in the states Indian reservatioins don't pay states or federal taxes on cigarettes....you can purchase cigarettes from some websites for less than 20 dollars a carton..where in Michigan they're damn near 50 dollars....but Michigan requires reporting..and BLAM, a year down the road you get an astronomical tax bill......

What I do wonder about tho...is will they report what you win? Or will they report what you withdraw?

online poker could be a very good source for govt income imo.

For those that remember him, Bud Abbott (Abbott and Costello) didn't get to enjoy his retirement one bit after the IRS got aholt of him. They took him down. Had a fire sale on all his property. Cleaned him out. Left him FLAT BROKE. Why...........?

He made a fortune at the tables one night. Lost it all by the end of the night. They didn't care, He made it, what he did with it after that was his business.

They get theirs.


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I think maybe you didn`t read the whole text of the Act, Wonka.

It says very clearly that licensed operators of poker rooms will be responsible for ensuring that "all taxes ... payable to Federal and State Governments .. from persons engaged in ... games are collected at the time of any payment of any proceeds".

In other words, when you cash out, the poker room will have to give you your winnings net of tax.

I have no trouble getting money into and out of poker rooms now. all this will mean is that I will now have to pay taxes on my winnings with no regard for my loses. Introduce a bill that will get the government out of the poker rooms, period, and I will rejoice.

Actually, you are currently required to pay taxes on your winnings, minus your loses. If you do not then you are in violationof the law..

Good and bad -- it will be nice to be legal and regulated to some extent, but the tax grab could be a scarey thing == us Canadians dont pay taxes on winnings, but have real trouble getting money won in US back home...
If they just tax Americans, OK (sorry folks). Bet you online poker could save Wall Street in a very short time!

Ya, and they also get yours.

If you get the PPA newsletter (and you should), further down is a story about the chump governor of Kentucky. It should concern us.

So would this mean that sites within the compass of this act would be US only? Would be a shame if that was the case for CC events.

yes i get the PPA newsletter and yes i sent the email to the idiot governor of Kentucky. hope ya'll do likewise

That`s not my reading of it, Rex. The Act says that foreign operators must take out a license in the States and abide by these provisions if they cater to US players.

I could see where the big European sites could comply overnight, because the regulatory regime proposed is essentially the same as in Britain, where they already comply.

The only thing that is significantly different is the tax. If they can adjust their cashout systems to single out US players, deduct tax from them, and transmit it to Washington, we could all be playing together on Party and Titan again quite soon.

That`s if it is passed, of course.

Excellent. Win/win then