REID-KYL Poker BILL SAID TO FAVOUR NEVADA
Sunday October 21, 2012 : REID-KYL Poker BILL SAID TO FAVOUR NEVADA
"Demonstrated capabilities relevant to the online poker environment" condition narrows the field down in federal bill
Politico writer Steve Friess says after studying the hard-to-get draft of the Reid-Kyl proposal for licensing online poker at the federal level that the bill favours Reid's home state of Nevada.
Friess claims that the bill – widely expected to be flighted during the lame duck session of Congress after the presidential elections in early November – sets qualifications for states to licence legal online gambling that only Nevada can meet, giving the state a clear field and an opportunity to profit handsomely from any legalization.
Detailing this conclusion, Friess notes that the bill, which specifically outlaws other forms of online gambling not already exempted, requires that to qualify to be a licensing body for federally sanctioned online poker, a state must have ‘demonstrated capabilities relevant to the online poker environment.’
"Only one state fits that description because only one has yet issued any Web poker licenses: Nevada," Friess writes. "In addition, the legalization as written requires a cut of the 16 percent ‘poker activity fee’ collected by the federal government to go to the state in which the poker site is licensed."
It appears that Friess is not the only interested party who has managed to get his hands on a copy of the Kyl-Reid draft; the Poker Players Alliance also revealed Friday that it has had a chance to study a copy of the draft, and confirmed that it largely conformed to the widespread stories earlier this month based on speculation and hearsay.
However, one critical – and controversial – element is missing; clauses which suggested that poker fans playing on ‘illegal' sites could face financial penalties are no longer present, and there is apparently no mention of criminal action against players.
The draft bill does, however, include provisions that will stop players from claiming money from government if enforcement agencies seize the monies of illegal operators or e-cash processors.
