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Reid poker bill would prohibit all interstate and intrastate online gambling
Reid poker bill would prohibit all interstate and intrastate online gambling except horse racing and online poker.
An overview of the online poker bill which Senators Harry Reid and Jon Kyl have been working on for the last few months has been circulating and been made available. A summary of the document’s main points follows.
The bill specifically aims to reduce the impact of the DOJ’s recent Wire Act reinterpretation, aiming to strengthen the Wire Act, the Illegal Gambling Business Act, and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act all at once.
“Under the hill, all Internet gambling, whether interstate or intrastate, would be prohibited, except offtrack horse-race wagering under the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978 and licensed poker.”
In order to deter play on foreign or unlicensed online gaming activity, the bill would make all property associated with the activity, including winnings, subject to forfeiture. Running an illegal online gaming operation would also be punishable by up to ten years in prison.
Under the bill, states would have to opt in. “The bill permits online poker, but only for persons physically located in states or on tribal lands that choose to opt in to the bill’s regime. The bill provides a voluntary election procedure by which states and tribes may choose to participate. A state or tribe may opt out simply by doing nothing.”
International player pools appear to be forbidden. “No licensee or other U.S. person may accept bets or wagers from persons located in other countries.”
It addresses post-UIGEA activity, and would make it difficult for operators like PokerStars or Full Tilt Poker to re-enter the U.S. market. “Licensing of persons (or use of their assets) that were involved in offering Internet gambling to United States residents after 2006 (following enactment of UIGEA) is prohibited for five years after enactment of the bill, subject to a rebuttable presumption that state or federal laws were violated by their post-UIGEA gambling activities in the United States.”
Issues of revenue sharing and taxation are addressed specifically. “The bill establishes a 16% online poker activity fee payable by licensees on a monthly basis – 14% payable to the states or tribes and 2% to the federal government with an adjustment mechanism to redirect any unused portion of the federal fee to the states or to establish additional funds – up to a maximum of 3.5% – if necessary to fund the permitted federal uses. The federal share of the online poker activity fee will be dedicated to OOPO, law enforcement, Native American, and responsible gaming efforts.”
Further analysis of the bill’s summary will be made available.
ps: yeh i pasted it , sue me, rolleyes
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