Online poker players might be a little disheartened heading into 2012, considering that after three separate hearings in Congress (granted they all occurred in subcommittees) there has been nigh a whisper of actual online poker legislation in the United States. With Congress about to go home for Christmas, 2011 and Online Poker Legislation is simply not going to happen –which means that the processRead Full Article

16-term Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) has decided to call it a career in Congress and will not seek reelection in 2012. Frank made a public statement on Monday where he cited the redistricting in Massachusetts as a main reason for his decision –Frank has historically represented a blue-collar area of the commonwealth, and the new district lines will see him lose areas where heRead Full Article

The legislation introduced by the latest darling of poker advocacy groups, Joe Barton, will get its first committee hearing next week, as the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, a sub-panel of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, will discuss HR 2366 on Tuesday. Barton is the latest member of congress to jump aboard the online poker bandwagon, although this bill differs from previousRead Full Article

Congressman Joe Barton (R-TX), best known for his deplorable apology to BP Oil executives in Congress during the hearings into the BP Gulf Oil spill, is the latest supporter of legalizing and regulating online poker. Barton is set to introduce a new piece of legislation that will legalize online poker, and is reportedly using the Poker Players Alliance for consulting purposes. Barton also spokeRead Full Article

There was good news coming out of Washington DC on Friday for online poker players as Congressman John Campbell (R-CA) announced his plans to introduce yet another online gambling bill to Congress. Campbell is teaming up with Barney Frank (D-MA) to introduce the legislation in a bipartisan fashion. Both Campbell and Frank sit on the House Financial Services Committee, and it was Campbell whoRead Full Article

In what should come as no surprise to anyone who followed the recent debate, the proposed legislation by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) that would have legalized the online gaming industry in the United States (including poker) is no longer on the agenda. John Pappas, the head of the PPA, told PokerNewsDaily that the grassroots organization is not giving up hope for legislationRead Full Article

The landscape of the US House of Representatives and Senate are drastically changed after the 2010 mid-term elections which saw the Republican Party sweep into power in the House, and close the gap in the Senate. This has left online poker players wondering what the chances are of being able to play poker in a legalized and regulated environment in the coming year. TheRead Full Article

Gambling 911’s Jenny Woo recently scored an interview with Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) whose proposed online gambling bill HR 2267 recently passed its first hurdle; clearing the House Financial Services Committee by a vote of 41 to 22. During the interview, Frank urged poker enthusiasts to stay active, and ramp up their pressure on their state and local representatives: “… I will say thisRead Full Article

After this week’s hearing on Barney Frank’s (D-MA) bill HR 2267, Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act, which seeks to legalize and regulate online gambling, a markup hearing has now been scheduled for Tuesday July 27th. A markup hearing is where the committee makes amendments and changes to a piece of legislation and then votes on whether it will be brought toRead Full Article

On Friday 13 October, 2006 the United States Government signed into law the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). The UIGEA basically made it illegal for banks and financial institutions to process deposits and withdrawals from online gambling sites from US citizens. Within hours of the act being passed into law, the vast majority of online poker sites refused to have American citizens asRead Full Article