As noted last week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is attempting to include an online poker-only bill into a piece of must-pass legislation during Congress’ lame-duck session. However, his attempts have run into problems from both sides of the aisle, while the online poker community have conflicting opinions about how the bill will affect online poker in the US.
The legislation, the most recent draft made available December 7 here, currently states that online poker licenses will be made available to eligible casinos, racetracks and slot machine manufacturers 15 months after the bill is passed. Conflicting opinions and drafts of the bill lead people to believe that sites such as PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker may (or may not) have to wait an additional 24 months after licenses are issued before being considered for a license. The Poker Players Alliance released a statement on December 6 regarding the legislation, noting that while no bill would give the players 100% of what they wanted, that the legislation would be a victory for the poker community in the long run.
Reid Poker Bill
Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) told Politico.com that the poker bill would have “zero chance” of being included in the legislation. In the same article, a congressional aide noted: “The House Republicans will go crazy if this is in the bill”, considered a payback by MGM Mirage and Harrah’s (now Caesars’ Entertainment) for their contributions towards Reid’s hard-fought victory against Republican Sharron Angle.
Democrats aren’t enthusiastic about the tax bill in general, especially after President Barack Obama frequently campaigned on how he would end the Bush tax cuts for individuals making over $250,000 a year. The November elections, with Republicans regain control of the House while the Democrats maintain a small majority in the Senate, have put political pressure on Obama to back away from that pledge. but getting the Republicans to accept extending unemployment benefits for 13 months to millions of people whose benefits were due to run out by the end of the year.
Reid Poker Bill
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