Barton federal Poker Bill Still Alive

Wednesday March 25,2015 :  BARTON ONLINE POKER BILL STILL IN PLACE (Update)
 
Texas legislator has a state-friendly legalization proposal on the table.
 
Very little has been heard this year from Texas Representative Joe Barton, a Republican who mid-2014 submitted an online poker legalization bill to Congress which appeared to gain little traction.
 
This week the Dallas News published an article suggesting that the Barton federal proposal was still in play, leaving the choice and style of legalization to individual US states.
 
The publication reported Barton is hoping that with online poker now legal in three states and the subject of intense interest in California, New York and Pennsylvania, his bill has a better chance of progressing this year.
 
Texas online poker players spent $62 million in 2010, the newspaper reports, quoting analysts Fiedler and Philander.
 
Barton has for the past several years tried unsuccessfully to push online poker legalization bills through Congress (see previous InfoPowa reports) and has said in support of his proposals:
 
"We want to have an ironclad system to make sure that those who play for money are playing in an honest, fair system where they can reap the benefits of their winnings. This bill is about having the personal freedom to play a skill-based game you enjoy without fear of breaking the law.
 
“It’s being done in some states. It’s being done overseas. This is not a cross-your-fingers-hope-it-works kind of deal. Once it is up and running, people will say: ‘What was all the hullabaloo about?’”