New online gambling bill stalks Washington
Another bill doing the rounds in Washington
A new draft online gambling bill is reported to be doing the rounds in Washington to see if support is there for its presentation to lawmakers. Jon Ralston a well-respected journalist has said that the “Internet Gambling Prohibition & Control Act of 2014” would propose to outlaw all types of online gambling in the US except for online poker.
Where and who is the author of the bill is not clear however the bill apparently looks very similar to the Adelson-backed Graham-Chaffetz bills currently before Congress, but with one exception that it allows for online poker, with many observers are saying this could be again from the Adelson camp trying to shore up more support by allowing online poker which is by far the most popular online gambling segment to US gamblers online.
With the removal of online poker from this latest mystery bill it would have more potential to succeed with current online gambling operators in Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey still having the option to continue their business with what is seen as the most lucrative part of the business.
Also with the Department of Justice announcement in December 2011 saying that they believed that online poker was not part of the UIGEA and only applied to sports betting, the removal of any litigation for any future bill could give it a better chance to succeed.
There is also a part in the new bill doing the rounds in Washington allowing for horseracing & intrastate lottery transactions to continue, so not to anger current states operating such enterprises already.
But many Washington observers involved in the online gambling sector say that even this proposed bill is likely to fail with elections on the horizon and no politician likely to endanger their prospects in such an unpopular subject with the electorate. However possibly this bill is a stalking horse for after the elections allowing lawmakers to review now in time for legislation after national elections.
