Online Poker Bills to get Second Chance in Congress

The 111th Congress will reconvene in Washington DC to delve into its work which includes looking at all of the bills that were introduced to the 110th Congress will have to be reintroduced once again. There are several bills that are amongst those that were introduced and, had they passed would have changed the entire picture of Internet poker in the United States, which will expire with the 110th Congress in a few short weeks.

All of the proposed bills concerning poker and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) that were introduced in 2007 and 2008 will be reintroduced when the 111th Congress convenes according to John Pappas, the executive director of the Poker Players Alliance.

Efforts are already underway by the PPA who is working with the lawmakers who originally introduced the bills to adjust and reword the bills so they might pass the Congress more easily. Pappas already has a meeting planned with lawmakers next week to hammer out strategy.

Over 7,000 plus bills were introduced during the 110th Congress but never made a final roll call will have to be reintroduced. Lobbyists including the PPA are flocking to Washington DC for the chance to work with politicians to rework those bills and give them a new chance as passage with the next Congress.

Below are three important bills that will be reintroduced that Online Poker players would be interested in:

S. 3616 — The Internet Skill Game and Licensing Control Act

This act was introduced September 26 by Senator Robert Menendez but never stood a chance of being considered due to how late in the session it was introduced. If passed by the 111th Congress, it would “provide licensing of Internet skill game facilities,” with poker being front and center.  The bill defines a skill based game as one “that uses simulated cards, dice, or tiles in which success is predominantly determined by the skill of the players, including poker, bridge, and mahjong.”

H.R. 2610 — The Skill Game Protection Act

This bill was introduced by Representative Robert Wexler on June 7, 2007 and proposes to name poker as a skill game on a Federal level which would prevent it from being targeted by the anti-gambling UIGEA. If poker is considered a skill game, it is not gambling and would be given the same protection as chess and even fantasy football.

H.R. 6870 — Payments System Protection Act of 2008

This bill was introduced by Barney Frank, a powerful House member who chairs the House Financial Services Committee. Frank has been a very outspoken critic since the passage of the UIGEA and the reintroduction of HR 6870 will be his second attempt at weakening the UIGEA by defining exactly what online gambling activities should be stopped.

In short, HR 6870 would take Online Poker off the list of what the government considers illegal gambling activities. If the bill gets reintroduced and passed, that list would be reduced and would only prevent the UIGEA from stopping anything but sports betting transactions.