Card Player – It has been awhile since online poker has been discussed in a hearing on Capitol Hill, but that is just what will happen on Tuesday.
The House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade will hold a hearing on Tuesday, December 10, 2013, at 12:30 p.m. entitled “The State of Online Gaming.”
According to the Subcommittee’s website, it will “examine the current regulatory landscape for online gaming after the Department of Justice’s reinterpretation of the Wire Act.”
The Subcommittee will also discuss Rep. Joe Barton’s H.R. 2666, the “Internet Poker Freedom Act.” The Congressman from Texas has been spearheading efforts on Capitol for several years now and has remained dedicated to the online poker cause in the U.S.
A list of those who will testify has not yet been released.
The hearing will be available to watch online right here.
Poker fans shouldn’t get their hopes up, though. It is widely assumed that legalization of online poker at a federal level is drawing stone cold dead. The issue is just too sensitive.
Obviously, Barton has remained optimistic about the proposal.
In the absence of a federal bill, a few states have legalized online gambling within their respective borders. More are expected to take up the issue in 2014.
However, the online poker industry will have a formidable opponent in Las Vegas Sands casino boss Sheldon Adelson, who will soon launch a coalition to try to thwart online poker’s spread.
