Poker From The Rail
a Poker Blog brought to you by Full Tilt Poker
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
If you are a poker player in the United States, especially if you play online, you were probably aware of a bill which was introduced yesterday in the U.S. House of Representatives by our biggest Congressional supporter Barney Frank. The bill was introduced in the Financial Services Committee and spent several hours going through the process of politicians attempting to tack on amendment after amendment but it was eventually passed the committee vote. This allows the bill to be sent to the full House of Representatives, kicking off a process of turning the bill into a law.
I have some very smart friends who spent some time ironing out the specifics for me and this is what we came up with. Any kudos go to my friends, any mistakes are completely mine. This is about 1/3 of the information I was given but it should give you a basic rundown.
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Yesterday, the U.S. House Financial Services Committee approved H.R. 2267, the “Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act.” Representative Barney Frank, who is Chairman of the Financial Services Committee, introduced H.R. 2267 and has been a vocal supporter of internet gaming. This bill establishes a framework for licensing and regulating internet gaming in the U.S. under supervision of the Department of the Treasury. U.S. brick and mortar casinos have operated under similar licensing and regulatory schemes for decades. Sports betting, other than pari-mutual race wagering, is specifically excluded from the bill.
Although this is a positive step for internet gaming regulation, there are still several procedural steps that must be accomplished before this bill becomes law. First, the full U.S. House of Representatives must debate and approve the bill by at least a majority vote. Once approved by the House, the bill will be introduced to the U.S. Senate. Once in the Senate, the bill will go through the committee process, which is similar to what just occurred in the House Financial Services Committee. If the bill is approved by the Senate committee, the full Senate must debate and approve the bill by at least a majority vote. If approved by both the House and the Senate, the President can either sign or veto the bill. If the bill is vetoed, Congress can override the veto with a 2/3 vote by both the House and the Senate.
As the bill progresses through these various steps, there will likely be numerous additions and deletions to the version approved by the House Financial Services Committee. The bill in its current form focuses mostly on the licensing of internet gaming operators and regulations regarding the operation of internet gaming facilities.
Under the bill, an internet gaming operator cannot accept bets or wagers from people in the U.S. unless it has first obtained a license. The bill sets forth general requirements for the suitability of gaming licensees and categories of companies and individuals who may not be deemed suitable for licensing. This type of licensing process, as well as some of the general parameters for licensing suitability, are similar to state law provisions that exist in places such as Nevada and New Jersey.
The regulatory components of the bill focus on areas such as underage gambling, taxes, safeguards relating to money laundering, compulsive gambling and privacy, marketing guidelines and data collection. Many internet gaming companies, including Full Tilt Poker, already have policies in place that address these items. Any licensed internet gaming operator would also have to maintain a corporate entity in the U.S. with a majority of its officers and directors being U.S. persons, as well as substantial operations in the U.S.
States may choose to set their own limitations regarding internet gaming, which means that a licensed internet gaming operator can only offer gaming to residents of that state within that state’s limitations.
While the process is far from complete, this is a significant step towards regulating online gaming in the U.S. and further protect your personal rights on the internet. We will continue to monitor the bill as it progresses along its route.
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Tags: AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, Online Poker, online poker law
Posted by One Angry Monkey | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
Tags: FTOPS, Online Poker
Posted by One Angry Monkey | Filed under Reader Mail
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a Panamanian bloodsucking grill-toothed wombat? No, wait. It’s just some good old-fashioned Reader Mail. We apologize to anyone who was looking forward to petting the wombat, but what the hell were you expecting? Go visit a fucking zoo. At any rate, on to the madness – email us at pokerfromtherail@fulltiltpoker.com with any questions, comments, or funny animal names that you’ve made up yourself.
Tags: Jerry Yang, Online Poker
Posted by Big Donkey | Filed under Bloggers Corner
The sprit of revolution is still alive and kicking in Massachusetts. So for the moment is the political career of Idiot-in-Chief, Governor Deval Patrick − but that’s another story for another day. Still, I was very pleased to see the news earlier this week that Patrick’s proposal to build three new brick & mortar casinos in Commonwealth while at the same time outlawing online poker went up in flames when the House Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies voted against the bill.
Don’t get me wrong, as a former Massachusetts resident, I’m all for building some real casinos in the state. Sure, Foxwoods is located in the nearby Connecticut woods, but it’s still a good 90 minute (or more) drive from the Hub to the poker room which, let’s face it, is just too far for those of us who can suffer from the poker DTs without our regular fix. We want action and we want it now, damn it!
Tags: Online Poker
Posted by Big Donkey | Filed under Bloggers Corner
I admit it – I’m a horrible online poker player. As much as I may protest this fact in public, in my heart I know the truth. I can’t ever seem to win at the virtual table.
Why this is, I don’t know. I feel like I play solidly and make the right moves at the right times. Of course, as my results unfortunately show, I’m not. The kicker is, however, is that my style online isn’t much – if at all – different than my live style, but my results are decidedly dissimilar.
Tags: Erick Lindgren, Online Poker
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The opinions expressed by this blog and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of Full Tilt Poker. Full Tilt Poker is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied by the author of this blog nor any content contained herein.
