Reid-backed Federal online poker bill dead
Legislation failed to attract sufficient Republican support to progress in 'lame duck' session.
Senators Harry Reid and Jon Kyl have ditched efforts to pass online poker legislation in 2012 after failing to attract enough cross-party support.
The co-authors of the bill had hoped to introduce the bill during this year’s lame duck session in which Congress reconvenes after election day until the new term officially begins on 9 January next year.
With Nevada and Delaware already passing their own egaming legislation and the likes of New Jersey, Illinois and California attempting the same, the Reid-Kyl bill was seen by many as a final chance to introduce a blanket regulation for online gambling in the US.
A leaked version of the bill in November confirmed it would legalise online poker only, with all other forms of gambling bar horseracing prohibited.
However senate majority leader Reid’s failure to attract sufficient support from his opposition party has seen the chances of its progress in 2012 expire, with his chief of staff David Krone telling the Las Vegas Review Journal late on Friday: “Our goal is definitely to try again next year but Senator Reid’s feeling is that after a while there comes a time when you’ve lost momentum, you’ve lost consensus you’ve built. There will be a window next year, but I don’t see it going long.”
Last week Reid announced that there was finally some Republican support for his bill after months of lobbying, however with just two weeks to go before Christmas, he suggested there would not be a suitable path through the federal legislature to get the bill passed. “We suddenly have Republican votes on internet poker, two weeks before Christmas,” he said.
Then, referring to the need to attach the bill onto a broader piece of legislation in order for it to progress, the senior Democrat added: “Without being vulgar, what the hell would I put it on?”
John Pappas, executive director of the Poker PlayersAlliance (PPA) said of the news: “It is an extremely disappointing end to a year where tremendous progress was made. I am most upset for the players, who have been calling on Congress for years to pass an Internet poker law that protects consumers, restores their freedoms and raises revenue. While I don’t think these voices have fallen on deaf ears, I am discouraged that Congress could not coalesce around a solution in the wake of the ongoing fiscal cliff crisis.”
Reid has previously blamed Republicans for the delay of the bill. Last month he reignited his war of words with Heller, who Reid has asked to secure at least 12 GOP votes for his legislation. The pair had a public falling out in October during the election campaigns over the same issue.