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

There are two things I follow pretty seriously, poker (of course) and politics. As an amateur political buff, I find it shocking that so many advocacy groups are coming out of the woodwork calling for online poker legislation. The reason this is such a head-scratcher to me is two-fold: 1. 2012 in an election year and fighting gambling is sacrosanct to the Republican baseRead Full Article

In an overwhelming vote on Wednesday the Massachusetts State Legislature passed a bill that would allow three mega-casinos to be licensed in the state as well as a single slots parlor. Even with 150 or so amendments to vote on, the legislature quickly passed the bill by an overwhelming, 123 to 32, and the bill will now make its way to the Senate whereRead Full Article

According to the website SubjectPoker.com there were some serious meetings over on Ireland this past week. The website first reported that Phil Ivey was meeting with PocketKings Ltd bigwigs, and later updated their readers with information that Jack Binion was also present in these discussions. According to several unnamed sources Binion is in talks with Full Tilt Poker in an effort to somehow becomeRead Full Article

The waters in Congress are extremely murky when it comes to Harry Reid’s proposed online poker legislation. Unlike say tax policy or universal health-care, Reid’s peers in the Senate and the House of Representatives are for the most part unwilling to publicly take a stand on the issue of Internet gambling. So we are left in the unenviable position of listening to them ditherRead Full Article

It’s sort of a double-edged sword for both Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars when it comes to legalizing online poker in the United States. On the one hand the sites would see an increase in traffic and the chance to move out of the legal “Gray-Zone” they now inhabit, but perhaps outweighing these plusses comes the realization of increased competition and declining revenue dueRead Full Article

The California legislature will vote on SB1485 today, which would legalize and regulate online poker in the state. Should the legislation pass, California would become the first state to enact its own Internet gambling laws, and ironically the measure would be approved on the day UIGEA legislation goes into effect at the federal level. California’s huge budget deficits have made the move a necessity,Read Full Article

A few entrepreneurs have decided to let real-money online poker rooms’ battle for legalized online poker, while they use the loopholes that have allowed Brick & Mortar poker events to take place for years. One of the biggest of these legal online poker sites is PurePlay, which instead of asking players to risk money at their own discretion charges a monthly fee to competeRead Full Article