Harry Reid’s Online Gambling Bill Comes to an End
December 27th, 2010
Everyone in the online gambling community has been upbeat lately with all the news about the different states and places in the world moving forward with the legalization of online gambling. In the United States folks were excited about the introduction of the Harry Reid bill which aimed to remove online poker from the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) which would allow for online gambling and online casino games such as slots to be legal in the country. However, all of the high hopes and excitement ended pretty soon in only one week after the introduction of the bill as it has come to and end.
The current session will not permit for the new online gambling bill by Harry Reid to get a vote and can not be added as an amendment to another law in these last days of 2010. The executive director of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), John Pappas, has recently stated that: “We are disappointed that Congress failed to act and provide the necessary consumer protections and sensible oversight over this multi-billion dollar industry. Sadly, some politicians remain with their heads firmly in the sand. The leadership of the Poker Players Alliance got the debate this far and we are determined to see this through.”
Harry Reid’s bill was to be added to a different bill for tax relief however, that plan wasn’t successful and thusly the online casino gambling proposal will not be adopted in this new law. This online gambling bill was specific to the fact that the United States needs help to create revenue to bring the country to a recovery from the global recession of the past years. To legalize and regulate online casino games would be a great help on this matter and Harry Reid’s bill was to be added to the tax bill recently drafted by President Obama but faced a great deal of opposition that brought it to an end.
California Moving Forward with Online Casinos
December 10th, 2010
This year has been a big year for online gambling in general, which means good news for all folks who love to play free video slot games and the ever-so-popular casino table games without having to leave their house. In the United States more people are fighting towards new legislations and more states are joining in the battle. For instance, just after the Senate in the state of New Jersey approved their online gambling bill, the state of California has shown strong interest in improving their online casino gambling issues in 2011.
California is strongly trying to fix the state budget and have turned to online gambling for a possible solution. According to state officials the newest online gambling bill sponsor will be announced before the year ends. California has always had issues with the tribes in their state but have improved those relationships to a point where discussion is a possibility and their support is practically imminent. It seems as tough the political atmosphere in California is improving dramatically for the online casino gambling community and will continue as the new year rolls in.
In California the new governor, Jerry Brown, is said to be open for a new online gambling-related bill and things in the state are still looking good with both houses remaining predominantly Democratic. However, the success of this new proposal is California depends entirely on how the bill behaves in New Jersey. When online casinos are fully legal there, other states in the country will follow since legislators will take advantage of the momentum since other states have shown apprehension simply for the fact that they don’t want to be the first to try out this new law. Other states want to know what has been done outside of their home towns before they go ahead an change their legislations, especially when its a sensitive issue like online gambling.