No poker exception in online gaming legislation
By Karoun Demirjian, Las Vegas Sun
WASHINGTON — Authors of the new online gaming bill in Congress have issued a challenge to Nevada, where online poker is legal, and any state that may want to legalize it.
“If you want to have online gambling, then come to the Congress. … If you want to have a poker exception, offer an amendment and see if it will pass,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who introduced the bill this week along with Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah.
The bill, on its face, is simple: It would roll back the 1961 Wire Act to the days before late 2011, when all transactions for online gaming were illegal.
But dig into the details, and it seems certain that this three-page piece of legislation is going to inspire some pretty heavy political conflict.