ITH Poker Forum

[mchilger]

Big day on Tuesday as Barney Frank's bill will go to vote in committee. If it passes committee, then it goes to the House for consideration.

Overview of the hearing this week.
http://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/94 ... p-and-vote

Stuff that pisses me off. The Indian tribes complain that they could lose jobs so it is a bad bill. But what about all the jobs that are gained elsewhere. Franks's closing comments were spot on when he basically said the people against the bill either hate gambling because it's "bad" or love gambling and don't want more competition. For me, I don't understand why competitors like Indian tribes and the Commerce Casino are even invited to hearings like this, but whatever.

Let's hope Tuesday's vote goes well.

Matthew

[artistic2]

When I saw Commerce casino was up there opposing, it made me wonder how the major casino lobby stood on this matter and found that the American Gaming Association(AGA) has changed their position and now supports online gaming! I must have missed this news when it happened.

http://www.americangaming.org/federal_i ... s.cfv?ID=9

Even though not very vocal, I have to think the major US gaming companys are working hard towards the day they can start grabbing market share from the Pokerstars, Party and FullTilt's of the billion dollar online world.

[MXRider]

Even though not very vocal, I have to think the major US gaming companys are working hard towards the day they can start grabbing market share from the Pokerstars, Party and FullTilt's of the billion dollar online world.

I think this is a big key in the passage of this. Originally, the land based casino's wanted these defeated to keep as much as they could and I think they are now realizing how much marketshare they are really missing out on overall and want to capitalize on this new market for them. I am hoping they will broadcast live on Tuesday as I want to watch it.

[poker_Elmo]

I am not sure that I want anything to change anymore. Right now, there are not many taxes interferring with the sites. Stars and Tilt are very trustworthy and treat players relatively well. I am afraid legalization will impose unreasonable taxes on them that will decrease the profitability of these sites.

In large part - I just hope what happened in France doesn't happen here.

[Piscivorous]

I just want good funding options that allow me to move money more quickly. I think we could see another bonus/reload boom if US based companies enter the field. Certainly it may impose taxes on the sites, but I think they can absorb them pretty easily without screwing with the rake. I think the infusion of more players who are no longer afraid of getting ripped off or who are no longer afraid of the quasi-legality of online gambling will more than likely make up for any potential losses.

I agree with Elmo over not xenophobing the American market and freezing out players from around the world.

OK, maybe freeze out the luckboxes from the former Iron Curtain countries....

[MXRider]

They had the markup today and according to a knowledgeable source over at 4, they had 3 amendments that passed that were "bad".

I don't understand any of the negative comments ITT. We had a good bill to start with and none of the amendments that passed really changed it that much:

There were three bad amendments that passed today that I can recall:


1. No credit card. This is an inconvenience.

2. Sites have to locate physically within the U.S. An inconvenience to the sites.

3. No licenses for sites that offered illegal gambling. This is kind of a big deal, but there is no guarantee that FT and Stars will be named on such a list. They'll have the opportunity (twice, if I am understanding the interplay of the amendments correctly) to make the case that they did not violate U.S. law.

Today actually went pretty well.

TE's larger point is also very valid. Recall that UIGEA had passd the house as a stand alone bill by a vote of something like 300-and something to 90 or so. Today, we are going to have a legal poker/gaming bill voted out of committee with at least some bipartisan support.

The PPA has made a lot of progress in swaying opinion in the house, and deserves a lot of credit for moving the house from overwhelming opposition to this point where we have bipartisan support in the committee.

I hesitate to say this because gaming has been a special case for much of American history, but:

One of the reasons these committees exist is because they encourage congresscritters to develop certain areas of expertise. This creates a culture in Congress whereby most congresscritters defer to the committee's expertise (or at least their party's leadership on the committee) on most bills.

When a bill passes out of committee with broad bipartisan support, this is a clear signal to the remainder of the house that the bill is a Good Thing that needs doing. These bills usually sail through Congress.

Two caveats as this applies to HB2267:

1. It is not clear whether we have "some," bipartisan support or "broad," bipartisan support. Which it turns out to be will have a big effect on how this bill is received when it gets to the floor. If only the hardcore ideologues in the republican party oppose it, then we can expect a lot of congresscritters to defer to the committee's expertise. If we only pick up a few republicans, then this will go to the floor as a partisan issue with only niche republican support (republicans who think it ill benefit their districts or their contributors).

2. Gaming has always been a different sort of issue, as it has long been perceived as a moral issue. So there may be widespread ideological opposition on the house floor even if the committee vote indicates there is some bipartisan support for the bill.

So, the final roll call vote today will be an important indicator of what sort of reception HB2267 will receive in the full house. Lots of republican cross over will be a good thing, only some cross over republicans will indicate that we are being perceived as a largely partisan issue.

imo

Keeping fingers crossed for today's vote that happens at 3:20 EST

[MXRider]

Bill passes committee 41-22-1! One hurdle cleared! Now onto the house!

[mchilger]

http://www.pokernews.com/news/2010/07/h ... f-8618.htm

Good overview of the vote and amendments.

Matthew