Poker Online

Category: Poker Online

The most recent and most significant event that has taken place with regard to Barney Frank’s bill to license and regulate online gambling has been the voting by the House of Financial Services Committee in favor of the bill. Poker site players are ecstatic about this recent turn of events and are eagerly awaiting the Federal approval and enforcement of a new law.

However, things aren’t that simple and the bill still has a long way to go before it can become an actual law. And here’s a quick look of what the next steps involve.

First of all the bill need to go through Jim McDermott’s companion legislation in order for them to establish necessary procedures to tax internet gambling. After this long process, the bill then needs to get past the Ways and Means Committee.

Ok so, the bill has to go through two more committees, there are still few more months before the end of the year so there is plenty of time. But that is the catch, in actuality there is very little time. In Congressional time there is hardly a month left.

In one week the House of Representatives will go on recess between Aug 9 and September 12. In that time, there seems to be no possibility that the Ways and Means Committee will have a markup. The next possible step for the progression of the Internet Gambling legislation in the House may very well only happen mid September.

In order for the internet gambling legislation to be passed before the end of this year the McDermott’s bill would have to clear the committee then combine with Frank’s bill and pass through the voting session of the Full House. The Senate would also have to pass a similar bill right from the committee stage and that could only happen sometime from September 13 to October 8. To cut a long story short, the chances of legalized online poker becoming a law this year seems to close to nothing.

It would take some kind of miracle for things to fall into place in time.