If you are an American poker player, chances are you heard of the potential for an online poker bill last month. An upcoming payroll tax bill that was very important was a chance to get a poker bill passed by means of piggybacking, which is pretty much exactly how the UIGEA was passed back in 2006 (via the SAFE Port Act). Hopes of American players were dashed, however, when the Nevada Senator (Harry Reid) announced that the online poker bill was not a possibility.
Does the near future have online poker as a possibilty for Americans? Rumors of the online poker bill started in the middle of February when people learned that Harry Reid was going to be involved with the tax bill. Now that the rumors have been squashed for good, Americans are once again left wondering when they can play poker again. A few sites are available if players are desperate, but many are worried that these sites may be targeted by the Department of Justice in the near future.
It is probably safe to assume that legalized online gambling is not a priority for the government at the moment. People speculate that the online poker bill could not be piggybacked onto the payroll bill because the payroll bill was much too complicated. Also consider that online poker in the U.S. is also a very complicated topic, and it will probably continue to get more complicated as time goes on.
Strides toward legal online poker are being made in some states, however. Legalized poker on the intrastate level has never been closer for states such as Nevada, for example. Once poker becomes legalized within certain districts, hopefully the topic of federally legalized online poker can be started again.
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