Current Progress of iPoker Legislation in the US

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Saturday, May 20th, 2017 | Written by Stephen Smith

Every year, poker fans cross their fingers and hope that the expansion of regulated online gaming in the US will finally happen. For 2017, prospects looked especially promising as at the start of the year there were nine states discussing potential iGaming legislation, but with the first quarter now come and gone, there has yet to be another state added to the list. Nevertheless, let’s take a look at what progress has been made this year in the drive towards online gambling in the USA:

– Pennsylvania. Two bills are currently on the table in the Keystone State, but the floor discussion over them has complicated the legislating process. Many lawmakers are now proposing that a higher tax rate should be set, which could potentially discourage the state’s casinos from applying for licenses. Muddying the waters further is a proposal that the state’s lottery system could be given the responsibility for running the state’s online gambling market, rather than casinos themselves.

– New York. Although the Senate and House are both home to supporters of online poker, Albany has yet to see a bill regarding online gambling. During budget talks, there was a small push to have online gambling revenue added to income in hopes of starting talks, but the effort proved unsuccessful. Recently, however, the Senator John Bonacic sponsored bill known as S3898 cleared a New York Senate Committee vote, and is soon expected to make its way to a full vote in the Senate. Passing an Assembly vote is seen as being the bigger hurdle, although this time around Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow has expressed a more positive stance on the issue of online poker, and as he explained recently:

“When I do sign off on something, my colleagues feel that it is a good deal, and they don’t question why I made a certain decision. They know that if that decision was made, it was for good reasons. I don’t feel there will be much opposition to moving this along.”

– California. Reginald Jones-Sawyer of the California Assembly introduced an online poker bill at the beginning of the year only to say in April that he is not going to move forward with the legislation. It seems that the ongoing rift between tribal factions is going to continue to block any efforts to advance legislation in the state. As a silver lining, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians has exited their partnership with PokerStars, and if the Morongo Band of Mission Indian does the same, then the argument over whether or not the operator should be banned under a bad actor clause will become moot, and the legislation may be able to proceed.

San Manuel ended their proactive efforts to see online poker legalized after a nine years run in a which a significant amount of time and resources has been expended. The same situation is also affecting other members of the coalition they belonged to, and as the tribe explains:

“Because this effort has taken so long and required so much tribal effort and attention.. San Manuel has decided to turn to other tribal issues at this time and has thus terminated its participation in the coalition.. No inferences of any kind should be drawn from its decision to withdraw from the coalition.”

– Michigan. In Michigan, a primary online gambling proposal made it out of committee at the beginning of March. Unfortunately, the bill has been slowed due to concerns about its constitutionality, how it will affect tribal sovereignty and the need for a public vote. Tribes in Michigan have come out against online gambling, and this could prove to be the biggest barrier to legislation.

– Massachusetts. Talks about online gambling legislation are on hold in the Bay State until the special commission on iGaming submits its final findings this summer. In the meantime, efforts to expand gambling into the online realm may face significant resistance, as a recent survey carried out by Save Our Neighborhood Coalition claims that 80% of respondents are against even moving the state’s lottery games online. In response, Comptroller Thomas Shack from the Lottery Commission, commented:

“As the apolitical and independent comptroller of Massachusetts, I have to tell you that that’s enormously disturbing to me, from the standpoint that you have the most successful lottery in the nation, and what you’re really doing is not only kneecapping it from the standpoint of not allowing it to participate in any kind of online way, but also you’re literally, as the treasurer said, handing the keys over to private industry.”

A Federal Ban?

At the federal level, there could be trouble coming for all of the states considering iGaming laws, as it’s been reported that US Attorney General Jeff Sessions is considering changes to the way the Wire Act is enforced. Under the Obama Administration, the U.S. Department of Justice took the Wire Act to apply only to sports betting; however, Sessions reportedly wants to go back to the days when all online gambling was banned at a federal level across the country. At the present time, he has made no formal moves to do so, but the threat has cast a shadow over the legislating process as states are hesitant to move forward, worried that their efforts may ultimately be for nothing.