In an earlier posting we noted how Harrah’s Entertainment was basically the only brick and mortar casino company that was willing to get behind Barney Frank and his proposed legislation that would finally allow poker players in the US to play online poker. Putting their money where their mouth is, they have put out over $400,000 to back their cause.
As you may recall, Party Poker was the largest and most successful online poker room before the UIGE Act came into play. While some companies decided to risk it and stay with the US market, Party Poker pulled out. At the time, Mitch Garber was the CEO of Party Gaming. Harrah’s has pulled out all of the stops and has hired Garber as the head of their new subsidiary, Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment, Inc., to lead the way into a new era of online gaming.
The move makes perfect sense. While the move to pull out of the US market can be questioned, the success of the company up to that point in the US is unquestionable. He will have the advantage of knowing the ins and outs of the industry and will also be able to launch their site in European countries while US legislation is still in question.
There can be little doubt that if this legislation goes through, Harrah’s will immediately take over as the major online poker room in the United States. They will have one advantage over any other site as they are actually a brick and mortar casino and a lot of the packages that they will be able to put together should far surpass anything that any other site can do the satellites into the WSOP. They have the ability to add food, beverage and lodging in a way that no other site can do.
While the other sites have to get more entries for a $20,000 package, this stuff can literally be comped off by Harrah’s to make their site the most attractive on the net. When you also add in the fact that a US company will finally be involved in the gaming industry, it reeks of success.
US players have been longing for a company that they could trust 100% and that would be regulated by the United States to get involved in the online poker industry. While European players will have the advantage of seeing the product first, it is hard to imagine that any other site will be able to match the product that they will develop. This is welcome news to United States players and will definitely change the online poker world in a positive way.
Wednesday was the day that the PPA and every poker player in the United States has been waiting for. Poker legislation in favor of online poker playing was finally introduced by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA)on Wednesday May 6th and for the first time, the poker playing public finally feels as though they have a shot of beating the system.
In a show of support, Peter King and Shelly Berkley co-sponsored the bill show a unique solidarity of both Republican and Democratic parties. Funny, they can agree on a poker bill, yet they fight it out over things like the stimulus package. But I digress, this is about legislation to finally handcuff the UIGEA and put a plan into place to stop the suspected fraud that has been reported on some sites and allow the American public to finally be able to trust an internet outlet for poker playing. The legislation also contains stipulations to address the underage gambling that is an obvious concern with the amount of 18 year old poker geniuses that are popping up on the European Circuit.
Another interesting thing that is going on here is that while most brick and mortar casinos are fighting the legality of online gaming for fear of what it will do to their bottom line, Harrah’s Entertainment, one of the largest casino operating businesses in the world, has decided to support the bill in an effort to expand their market. In fact, it has been reported that they have poured almost $500,000 into the lobbying efforts of this bill.
It is finally being recognized by both the casino business and politicians that online gambling can become an avenue that will help out the recession instead of contributing to it. The amount of income the government will make on tax alone would be astronomical. In fact, if it was legalized, it would actually create more jobs as companies like Harrah’s would probably end up running online casinos and poker rooms. There is no doubt that Americans would flock to a site that was regulated by the US Government. Paying taxes on your yearly winnings would be small price to pay to ensure that you were playing on a safe and secure site. Lots more to come on this issue, stay tuned…
On the eve of Barney Franks introduction of legislation to allow and regulate online gambling, another Minnesota politician has stepped to the forefront and is trying to halt the legislation that was introduced earlier to ban 200 internet gaming sites from being able to transmit in the Minnesota area.
Representative Pat Garofalo had expressed his concerns about such a bill going through and who is actually behind it. His claim that “the casino industry trying to use the heavy hand of government to discourage online gaming” hits home and brings a new light to the issue for the everyday man.
It has been noted several times that besides the bill being ridiculous, it was not even thought out very well. The bulk of the poker sites that it would restrict do not even allow US Players. Furthermore, poker sites that are very well known in the United States, such as Poker Stars and Absolute/Ultimate Bet, would still be allowed to operate as usual.
The PPA is excited about this latest development as they have garnered the support of yet another political big wig to aid in their cause. They continue to point out that gaming needs to be regulated, not banned from happening. The income that can be generated would go a long way to help an economy that is struggling in the United States.
You can arguably say that Garofalo is staking his political career on this move, but that has not swayed him as he has said, “I don’t care. It’s the right thing to do, and I’m willing to live with it.” Imagine that, a politician that is actually listening to what the voting public wants and also willing to deal with the aftermath of his actions! What is becoming of the political world that we once new?
A professional online poker player, Chris Wallace, is stepping up and challenging the ridiculous law that is being proposed in Minnesota. In fact, he has gone so far as to email the Justice Department and tell them to come and get him if online poker playing is illegal. Making an income of over $2,000 a week, you can see why he is a little upset!
The Wire Act, initially passed in 1961, continues to be the backbone of current legislation that is currently being attempted to get pushed through on both local and federal levels. Representatives against the legislation continue to point at the age of the legislation and the fact that other forms of gaming have been legalized, yet they continue this assault on online poker.
Their argument this is nothing more than a half hearted attempt to grab headlines and sensationalize everything is easy to understand when you look at some of the sites that they have somehow managed to leave off of the list of banned sites. The bulk of them do not even allow US players to wager on them. Why would these poker sites be included and sites like PokerStars and UltimateBet/Absolute be allowed to continue their operations within the state?
As Barney Frank continues to get his legislation prepared for presentation, it will be very interesting to see how things play out. As reported earlier, the internet providers have 3 weeks (less now) to address the situation and if Barney’s legislation receives positive support, it will be very curious to see how Minnesota and the other states that have banned online gaming react. My guess is that this is far from over and over the next few months this will be dominating the poker headlines as much as the WSOP.
With major gaming legislation about to hit the floor, Minnesota took the lead and tried to cut off the internet gambling at the heart. They have passed very aggressive legislation in their state house that will all but cripple the industry in that state.
As the news hit the wire, poker forums were burning up with concerns about what players were going to do about getting their bankrolls out and how they were going to get their poker fix in. With 200 sites being banned from transmitting information to computers, there is a definite cause for concern not only in Minnesota, but in other states across the United States as well.
The odd part about this little venture is that while a lot of the major poker sites and gambling sites are listed, there are some noticeable players that have been left off of the list. Most noticeably, Poker Stars and UltimateBet/Absolute were for some reason missed the list while Full Tilt and BoDog led the list of banned sites.
Interestingly enough, The Minnesota Department of Safety is not only trying to block the IP addresses, but also the phone communication links as well. This is something that has to have players in absolute panic. With the MDS only giving internet providers 3 weeks to respond to their request, players are not being given very much time to respond to the latest Big Brother move by a local government agency.
The next few weeks are going to be very interesting. With the Federal Government having legislation on deck and this legislation about to take effect in Minnesota, the poker world as we know it is about to be turned on its head. Hold onto you chips guys, it is going to be a wild ride!
