Lawmakers on a House Energy and Commerce panel appeared open on Tuesday to calls to legalize online poker, citing the potential tax revenue and ability to better regulate an game that many Americans already play.
While the hearing before the Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee was about Internet gambling in general, much of the discussion focused on legislation offered by Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, that would make it legal to place cash bets on online poker.
A 2006 federal law now bans online gambling operations from accepting bets related to online gambling and imposes penalties on banks and others for processing payments related to online gambling bets. Barton’s bill, which has been referred to the subcommittee, would not overturn the law but instead allow bets for money to be placed on online poker in states where poker is now legal.
Barton and other supporters of legalizing online poker betting say millions of Americans are already playing poker online and engaging in other forms of Internet gambling with little consumer protection. They also say that the U.S. government is losing out on tax revenue that is either going uncollected or to the governments of countries where most online gambling sites are based.
“Considering the fragile and struggling state of our economy, all potential revenues should be considered,” subcommittee ranking member G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., said.
But some lawmakers remained unconvinced, including Rep. Gregg Harper, R-Miss., who said he has heard the same arguments used to advocate legalizing drugs.
Supporters of legalizing online poker, however, noted that there are protections that can be put in place to verify that players are old enough to gamble and also address problem gamblers by placing limits on how much they can bet and how long they can play.
“This legislation can’t protect everybody every time in every instance,” said former Sen. Al D’Amato, R-N.Y., who is now chairman of the Poker Players Alliance. “It can go a long way toward protecting people who have no protections right now.”
A spokesman for subcommittee Chairwoman Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif., said she plans to hold another hearing on the issue that would likely feature state officials who currently regulate state gambling operations.
Bono Mack did not say whether she supports Barton’s legislation. Noting that there are seven Indian casinos in her district, she indicated a concern about ensuring that Indian casinos have a level playing field if online poker is legalized. Ernest Stevens, chairman of the National Indian Gaming Association, outlined several protections his group wants included in legislation legalizing any form of Internet gambling.
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