Joe Barton on Legalized Internet Poker in the US: “I Think We Have the Votes”

Texas Republican Congressman Joe Barton believes his bill to legalize and fully regulate (not to mention tax) Internet poker in the United States will likely come to fruition by next summer, which, if you are able to keep up with the time, is just about 6 months away.

From Poker News Report: 

Barton wouldn’t mind seeing the bill he is sponsoring make its way through the proper legislative channels, beginning with a subcommittee markup, followed by going through the House Energy and Commerce Committee in the spring of 2012, and finally, passage by the entire House of Representatives next summer. He also could visualize Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid grabbing the lead and nudging a bill through the Senate first.

“If we get it up for vote in the House, we have the votes,” Barton said. “I think we have the votes in the subcommittee, the full committee and on the House floor. It’s a little more dicey in the Senate because of the 60-vote requirement.”

Nevada casino operators aren’t waiting around for Joe Barton, however.  The state plans to begin issuing licenses in February, which will allow sites to offer real cash play statewide.  Brick and mortars such as South Point Poker are already offering a "free play" platform. 

The New York Post, citing sources, reported that Reid and Arizona Republican Senator Jon Kyl could push their own bill through by the end of this month.  Few are optimistic that this will actually occur unless such legislation is attached to pending “must pass” bills related to deficit reduction.  That’s exactly how Kyl passed his online gambling prohibition bill into law during October 2006.  He has since come to the conclusion that online poker needs to be scratched from his Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (often referred to as just “UIGEA”).

- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher