The poker world has just suffered from a huge set back in the hands of Chris Christie, governor of New Jersey, when he vetoed a bill that could have given birth to the first ever intrastate internet gambling market within the United States. As you probably can expect, this made Chris Christie rather unpopular among poker players, with some even saying that he wimped out and folded under the pressure. But what’s done is done and the only thing that the industry can do now is to move on. The first state to take the first steps towards moving on is Iowa. Iowa just moved one step forward on the legalization of online poker within their borders through the Senate Study Bill 1165.
A vote of 9-6
The Iowa State Government Committee convened last Wednesday to take a vote on the issue of online poker legalization within the state. It was a relatively close vote, with 9 voting in favor of poker and 6 going the more conservative (but highly impractical) route. This means that the bill will be moving forward to the Iowa Senate where it will once again be voted upon. Then the only thing keeping it from becoming a fully fledged law would be approval from the Iowa House and, lastly, a signature from the Governor of Iowa who, hopefully, would not chicken out like Chris Christie did. Hopefully, Terry Branstad won’t disappoint the 150,000 poker players of Iowa and do the decent thing. If he gives his signature to this bill at the very end, Iowa could be looking at $40 million worth of revenue from online poker on a yearly basis.
That could very well solve several of the state’s deficits. However, Branstad is a Republican, which may dampen the bill’s chances of becoming law.
What Happens Next?
In the event that the bill does become law, poker operators would have to purchase a license so that they can be allowed to create and run their gambling site. The only ones who could acquire a license, however, would be those gambling establishments that are already in operation within the state. This means that only the brick-and-mortar casinos and such similar establishments can create their own poker sites. But then the bill also states that poker sites that accepted bets from the people of Iowa during the period when the UIGEA was in place would be forbidden from getting a license, meaning no PokerStars, Full Tilt, UB, or Party Poker.
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