Online Casinos United States - for US Casino Players

As has been rumored for months, California is once again considering whether or not to introduce legislation that would regulate online hold'em poker in the Golden State. But the big mystery right now who is doing the considering.

A piece of draft legislation dated Jan. 15, 2009 and first obtained and posted by IGamingNews, has been circulating around the Internet for a few days.

The carefully drafted legislation details how online poker should be regulated in California. But according to sources with knowledge of the situation, who is actually going to sponsor this legislation is unknown. Democrat Lloyd Levine, who championed the cause last year, is no longer in the California Assembly because of term limits.

The proposed regulatory framework sets up nicely for well-established card rooms like the Bicycle Casino and the Commerce Casino.

In the draft legislation, only "current gaming establishments licensed by the state of California and California tribes with gaming compacts" would be allowed to apply for a California license to offer online poker. It also requires that the "Wagering Hubs," which appear to be a reference to servers, be located in California as well.

Play would be restricted to residents of California with sites required to use an independent third-party service to verify residency and age requirements. The bill sets the casino gambling age at 21.

The proposal also requires that withdrawals from casino betting player accounts be restricted to checks and electronic transfers.

Rep. Barney Frank told the Reuters Global Financial Regulation Summit on Tuesday that he would introduce legislation designed to repeal the UIGEA next week.
"We'll be introducing it next week and I plan to move on it," Frank said according to a Reuters report on the story.

Frank, a Democrat from Massachusetts and chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, has long been a champion of the online casino gambling industry.
Last year, Frank introduced two measures designed to overturn the UIGEA. One bill failed to make out of committee. The other was approved by the committee (HFS), but never voted on by the full House of Representatives.

Opposition to Frank's online betting legistlation efforts to overturn the UIGEA is expected to be stiff. The National Football League (NFL) has hired a full-time lobbyist, in part, to help fight the bid to overturn the UIGEA. And social conservatives, like Sen. Jon Kyl and Rep. Spencer Bachus, have indicated they would vigorously fight any attempt to soften or overturn the UIGEA.

News sources have reported that the newest version of Barney Frank’s efforts to bring forth legislation that will regulate USA online casino gambling and overturn the UIGEA in the process will be ushered into the U.S. Congress shortly after Easter.

April 20 is a date that has been reported, but that date has not been confirmed. Frank has only stated that he plans to bring forth the new legislation after the Easter recess, and "definitely in April".

As reported by Poker News Daily, the new legislation from the Massachusetts Democrat will be a stand-alone bill, and not a rider to other legislation, as some have anticipated. The bill is designed to create a “complete licensing and regulatory framework for the internet gambling industry,” and Frank reportedly wants the bill itself to generate publicity for the cause via “hearings, discussions, and votes.”

As Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Frank has a considerable amount of power in the U.S. Congress, and so his desire to focus attention on the issue will likely see fruition.

“Frank has long been a proponent of internet gambling on Capitol Hill,” writes Dan Cypra for Poker News Daily, providing the rundown on events leading to this point. “He was the author of HR 2046, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act, which was introduced in April of 2007, but was not acted upon and now must be reintroduced for consideration. The bill attracted 48 co-sponsors. Last September, the House Financial Services Committee approved HR 6870 by a 30-19 vote, the second version of the Payments System Protection Act, which would have clarified what was legal and illegal under the UIGEA. However, the collapse of the global economy occurred shortly thereafter and the bill was placed on the backburner.”

After a long period of negotiations and legal maneuvering, Party Gaming has reached a deal with the United States Department of Justice to settle the years-long prosecution against the U.K.-listed online casinos gambling company, the Wall Street Journal reports today.

The deal is being called a "non-prosecution agreement," meaning that the company will pay a sizable fee rather than face any criminal charges. The agreed-upon penalty will take the form of a $105 million fee, reached after nearly two years of discussion and negotiation.

The case has been a controversial one, given the fact that it is essentially prosecuting a non-American company for providing a service with a legality that is difficult to define in clear terms.

"In turn, U.K.-listed Party Gaming has accepted a 'statement of facts' about its business activities prior to the ban, and will pay $105 million in eight installments over a period ending Sept. 30, 2012, from its existing financial resources. The sum is broadly in line with market expectations.

"Under the statement of facts, Party Gaming admits that it offered internet gaming to players in the United States from 1997 to Oct. 13, 2006, which was 'contrary to certain United States laws.'"

Under the terms of this agreement, Party Gaming also agrees to continue to avoid the United States market in the future.

Party Gaming's CEO, Jim Ryan, chose to see the resolution of the years-long case as a positive note, giving his company freedom to pursue new goals. The company will now focus on merger and acquisition activity, according to the article, which went on to predict that the closure of this case represents a turning point for the online gaming industry in general, and may signal a period of market and corporate consolidation.

"We've received a favorable indication from the parties that we'd gone to that once this matter was resolved that we could have access to not only the equity markets, but to debt markets," states Ryan in the article.

Illustrating the positive reaction to the announcement, Party Gaming, Sportingbet, and 888 shares were all up significantly today.

As part of a formal investigation, the European Commission has issued a preliminary report that finds USA laws on online casino gambling are legally not justified and discriminatory. The report found that the treatment of foreign online casino betting operators by the USA under existing domestic law constituted a barrier to market access for European companies and is inconsistent with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. Legislation previously introduced by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) would resolve the trade dispute by regulating Internet gambling and creating a level playing field among domestic and foreign Internet gambling operators.

"The European Commission inquiry further highlights the need for the Obama Administration and Congress to control Internet gambling not only to protect consumers, but in order to restore integrity to the international trade system," said Jeffrey Sandman, spokesperson for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative. "The Obama Administration should seek to forge a new direction on Internet gambling, rather than keeping in place a protectionist trade policy that hypocritically discriminates against foreign online gambling operators."

E.U. Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton released a statement that encourages the USA to control Internet gambling as a way to address this issue. "It is for the US to decide how best to control Internet gambling in its market, but this must be done in a way that fully respects WTO obligations. I am hopeful that we can find a swift, negotiated solution to this issue," said Commissioner Ashton.

Rt Hon. David Blunkett MP, former U.K. Home Secretary and current Member of the U.K. Parliament joined in calling for USA casino regulation, saying, "I fully support the call by the EU Trade Commissioner, Cathy Ashton, for urgent USA action to regularise the trade relationship, respect WTO rules and to control online gambling. This would provide not only fair competition, but protection for individuals and families, and a legal basis on which substantial revenue could be raised at a time of considerable pressure on public finances."

The inquiry by the European Commission is the result of a Trade Barrier Regulation complaint filed by the offshore Gambling Association (RGA), which represents the largest offshore gambling companies in Europe. In its complaint the RGA claims the United States violates international trade law by threatening and pursuing criminal prosecutions, forfeitures and other enforcement actions against foreign Internet gambling operators, while allowing domestic online casinos USA operators, primarily horse betting, to flourish.

At the conclusion of the investigation, the European Commission could pursue talks with the USA to find an appropriate solution to end the discrimination. If the parties cannot settle the matter themselves, the Commission could bring a case against the USA to the WTO.

A recent analysis found that the USA could receive as much as $51.9 billion in federal revenue over the next decade if Internet gambling is regulated as proposed in legislation previously introduced by Representatives Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Jim McDermott (D-Wash.).

Once it comes to the situation of the United States' Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), and the combat to get it turned over, there are many considerations at play.

Emphasizing that the UIGEA has had a devastating effect on the income of the poker industry as a whole -- and. Therefore, on poker affiliates as well -- Newell starts out by reminding us how offshore banks like Neteller had little choice but to abandon the USA after the UIGEA’s implementation. The effect was that the USA lost revenue not only from Internet poker, but also from the banking, advertising, and sponsorship services that go along with it.

Newell then makes a point of how the UIGEA has had a somewhat positive effect on the industry, at least in terms of engaging poker players to become more politically active. " … Through that progression of events,” she writes, “the poker industry spoke up. In turn, people of influence began to speak for us. The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) grew into an organization of more than one million members and gained former New York Senator Alfonse D’Amato as its Chairman. Members of the House of Representatives like Barney Frank and Ron Paul saw the UIGEA for the intrusive, prohibition-like law that it was and began efforts to reverse or change it. And for what it might be worth, the United States elected poker-playing President Barack Obama.”

She then moves on to the three key probabilities that anti-UIGEA advocates are most relying upon: President Obama’s power to overturn the Bush administration’s last-minute implementation of UIGEA in 2008; Barney Frank’s commitment to undermining and, if possible, eliminating the law; and the current economic recession that makes any added revenue streams immensely attractive -- including, possibly, revenue that could be gained from taxing a newly regulated online poker industry.

Newell is wise enough to acknowledge that the success of these anti-UIGEA movements will depend heavily on “the unpredictability of politicians and the political process” -- no small factor given the United State’s often contentious and closed-doors lawmaking processes. So, she ends on a note that calls on the players and affiliates to speak up for their rights:

“One major factor that will be necessary to sway the odds in the favor of the Online Poker room industry is the voices of the masses. It is more important than ever that we get involved, especially by letting members of Congress -- and President Obama -- know how we feel. The Poker Players Alliance provides easy access to governmental representatives.