Casinos in California and the Commerce Casino have come out expressing their views against the potential legalization of online poker in the near future.
The proposed bill, currently on the footsteps of congress, was implemented and created by Barney Frank. The bill is entitled HR 2267, and calls for the complete legalization of online poker in the United States. It would go against a 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.
The fact that the Commerce Casino has come out strongly against online poker, has caused a stir in the Poke Players Alliance.
However, The Commerce Casino has said that in the state of California, they currently have 20,000 employees. When combining that with what they estimate is 70 percents of state residents on the Internet, and accounting for over $13 billion bet online each year worldwide, the Commerce has stated that they would like to keep that money in the state of California
“Federal and state regulation of online poker is coming and we can either fight to ensure that poker players’ interests are protected or allow illegal foreign operators, who are siphoning millions of American dollars out of this country, to dominate the U.S. market”
“If domestic card casinos do not defend themselves from offshore interests, we stand to lose not only revenue but also the loss of jobs. We are against the Frank and McDermott bills. (The) Poker Players Alliance should be against this, too.”
John Pappas, the executive director of the Poker Players Alliance argued back by stating that poker companies would have to put 50 percent of their total operation in the United States.
“It’s pretty clear their only concern is that they (The Commerce Casinos) don’t want to compete.”
