From Legal US Poker Sites – While many thought the 2012 lame duck session of Congress represented Harry Reid’s best – and quite possibly last – chance at an online poker bill, one member of Congress apparently holds a conflicting opinion.
And, being that said member is in fact Harry Reid, his opinion ought to carry some weight.
While there’s been no official word from Reid’s office on this issue, a number of reputable industry sources have been publicly stating in recent days that the Senate Majority Leader is poised to relaunch his attempt to bring federally regulated online poker in law – and prepared to significantly block the expansion of other forms of online gambling in the process.
Details of Reid’s rumored proposal are all second hand and speculative.
With that caveat out of the way, what’s being reported looks something like this: Reid would amend the Wire Act to blanket-ban all forms of online gambling, while making a single exception for poker and grandfathering in existing online gambling regulated by the states.
New Jersey and Nevada would be tasked by the federal government with operating a dually-controlled regulatory body that would oversee the online poker industry, while states with gaming boards and tribal entities would also be able to issue licenses.
