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Merry Christmas!
The New York Times had an article yesterday which discussed the removal of an obstacle to online gambling. Basically, the Wire Act which was used to limit (and essentially ban) online poker, was ruled to only apply to sporting events.
This, combined with the fact that individual states desperately need new sources of revenue and want to enlarge their base of people gambling, is very good news for the future of legal and regulated online poker in the United States.
Rich Muny (TheEngineer on 2+2), the VP of the board of the Poker Player Alliance, said this on 2+2:
"I think it's huge. For one, it means Congress will have to revisit the
broader issue if they wish to have clarity. For another, it does seem to
clear the way for intrastate poker IMO (again, IANAL).
Both developments bode well for us, perhaps increasing the odds of moving federal legislation by double-digit percentage points."
Here is more agreement from PokerXanadu (another 2+2 mod very involved with the legislative side of ipoker) on the huge implications of this ruling. He specifies:
"It's essentially equivalent to passing a federal opt-in i-poker bill [my highlight for emphasis - PN].
Any state that now passes legislation that authorizes i-poker can
legally participate in interstate i-poker with NV and other states with
similar legislation. Arguably, it can also occur without such state
enabling legislation in states that don't have a law that expressly
prohibits i-poker, but I don't think that will happen."
More from PX: "this makes the chances for federal legislation go to near 100%"
WSJ article: "Internet Poker Is Sort of Legal!"
"In a nutshell, the department's Office of Legal Counsel has
determined that the Federal Wire Act, the 1961 law that had been
interpreted to outlaw all forms of gambling across state lines,
actually only applies to "a sporting event or contest."
Well, what does this mean? It means that Internet poker isn't barred by any federal statue.
This story is still developing, but outlook seems very upbeat!
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