The Online Poker Expert

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Democratic Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey fired another salvo in the battle to legalize online gambling, by unveiling S 1597, the Internet Poker and Games of Skill Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act. He’s taking us one step closer to enabling all those grandmothers and just plain folks who want to play bingo online or even get adventurous and learn to play video poker.

The legislation would explicitly legalize and regulate games of skill, clarifying that the U.S. government views poker, bridge, mahjongg, backgammon and chess as games in which a player’s skill dominates the outcome.

According to the bill text, which is 89 pages long: “While each of these games contains an element of chance, over any substantial interval, a player’s ultimate success is determined by that player’s relative level of skill.”

Menedez’s bill focuses heavily on online poker, stating that “Poker is part of the cultural and recreational fabric of the United States and has been since the founding days of the United States. United States poker aficionados have included presidents, judges, and statesmen.”

The move comes a few months after Representative Barney Frank proposed HR 2267, legislation that would both legalize and regulate all online gambling. Like Frank’s HR 2267, S 1597 would establish a licensing and regulatory framework for the online casino gambling industry in the United States. HR 2267 was introduced exactly three months ago and now has 54 co-sponsors.

Rep. Frank and Senator Menendez are both actively pursuing the reversal of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006, which has caused more than its share of confusion and problems because of its lack of clarity about what constitutes online gambling. Frank is already on his second attempt to overturn the UIGEA; the first was denied by a Republican Congress. But this year Democrats Frank and Menendez have the majority in their respective chambers, in addition to wide Republican support. Many GOP leaders are beginning to understand that legalized gambling is the will of the people.

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