|
|
New effort in Online Poker US RegulationA new bill aiming to regulate internet poker and skill games, backgammon among them, was introduced to the Congress last week by Senator Robert Menedez (D-NJ). S 8309, titled “Internet Poker and Games of Skill Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act of 2009,” emphasizes the importance of poker in American culture and identity and notes that online poker regulation would contribute to the safety and fairness of the games.
Senator Robert Menedez joins Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) who introduced a similar bill earlier this year targeting regulation of online poker. While Frank's bill included online casinos and games of chance (such as lottery, bingo, etc.), the bill applied by Menedez focuses only on skill games and puts poker in the same category as chess, bridge and backgammon. Both bills exclude sports betting. The bill was accepted enthusiastically by the Poker Players Alliance.
Regulating online games, particularly online poker, would protect players from biased games, collusions or other forms of cheating (as the scandal recently revealed in Absolute Poker), and would prevent minors from gambling online (the bill suggests limits the age of online money gamers to 21), so it is claimed in the 91-pages bill. The new internet poker bill also defines specifically the tax percentages that should be taken by the gaming sites: 5% of all American deposits will be paid to the federal government and 5% to the local authority, while a certain percentage of these taxes would promote problem gambling campaigns and researches.
|
