Online gambling enthusiasts in the U.S can now look forward to a great year in 2011 and towards 2012. The absence of any gambling related legislation getting passed during the just concluded lame-duck session has pushed away any chances of the gambling legislation coming into effect the coming year.
For most online players, this essentially means that their skills will continue to be well compensated. The bill that Senator Harry Reid has been pushing for would have halted all online poker action for more than 18 months. It was therefore quite unlikely that online gambling companies would have continued to patronize American clients as this would have meant risking their license. It is been observed that the bill introduced by Senator Reid has many flaws. Even those lawmakers who are strongly in favor of online gambling legislation point out that the Reid bill will in only help the bigger establishments located ostensibly in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. It is speculated in political circles that there is more than meets the eye as far as not taking up the online gambling bill in the current session is concerned.
The biggest piece of legislation that was passed in the lame duck session was the tax cuts bill. It is being argued that Senator Reid could have attached the online poker bill to the tax cuts legislation which needed to be passed at all costs. However, Republicans who were well aware of such a move was being planned long before the session began took the appropriate steps to get it stalled before it could be put up for vote.
Online gamblers are not too bothered by the development. For several years now, they have enjoyed their online gambling games without being protected by any legislation. That’s how they like it and hope to continue without being harassed by unnecessary and restrictive legislation. They are well aware of the fact that the Conservatives who have gained control of the house during the November mid-term election have amongst them some of the biggest anti-legislation crusaders. This would make it highly unlikely for the online gambling legislation to come into effect at an early date.
Representative Barney Frank is among those few senators who have made continuous and sustained efforts to have the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 turned back. The effort has met with little success despite some dogged persistence. His bill appears as good as dead with his loss of control in the House Finance Committee, though it has passed the Committee.
There is more news about online gambling legislation emerging from North Carolina. The state is facing a huge multi-billion dollar deficit forcing Governor Bev Perdue to explore gambling legislation as an option to generate more revenue for the state and bridge the huge fiscal gap. Online gambling is thriving in North Carolina. There is however, a huge question mark over the legality of these gambling outlets the state is not many any tax money from these gambling establishments. There has been a persistent effort by the authorities to shut down many such gambling outlets but for every unit closed, there are many more that opens at different locations in the state.
The Governor believes that providing licenses to these outlets can help the state authorities’ control them better while earning great revenues for them at the same time.