It's Crunch Time for Online Gambling Regulations
It's Crunch Time for Online Gambling Regulations
With the Christmas break coming up it seems certain that the future of any pro-online gambling legislation rests with Senator Harry Reid. Reid is still the Senate Majority leader and has the ability to introduce HR2267 or companion bills to the Senate prior to control of Congress shifting over to the Republicans. If Reid sits on the legislation it's almost certain it will die on the shelf. In January the Republicans take control of the House and it's unlikely that John Boehner (who is set to be Speaker of the House) or any other Republican will address gambling legislation, particularly if its purpose is to overturn the UIGEA. Consequently, if nothing is done prior to January don't expect to hear about HR2267 or similar bills again until 2012.
In the midterm elections, Reid was expected to lose to a Tea Party candidate but his state handed him a fairly comfortable victory. Most gambling proponents viewed that as a message to the Senator that Nevada residents are expecting him to move forward with an online gambling bill. The legislation is crucial not only for states like California and New Jersey that are relying on a new bill to propel their bid to create an online gambling network but also for Nevada which is suffering financially. A recent study showed that Nevada would benefit greatly from online gambling and companies like Harrah's and Caesar's are expecting Reid to act on that study.
If Reid does have any desire to move on those bills, however, he hasn't giving any indication of it. In fact the Senator seems to be absent of late and any plans he has regarding gambling legislation are being kept closely guarded. In almost every other previous election when it was clear the government was about to lose their majority in one of the Houses, the leaders from the outgoing majority always tried to ram through as many bills as possible. In fact that precise thing happened in 2006. When it was clear the Republicans were going to lose their hold on Congress, Bill Frist with the support of Jon Kyl, Robert Goodlatte and many suggest George Bush, looked for a way he could attach the UIGEA to which would ensure its passage. There were numerous bills that were likely to pass but the Safe Port Act, which was designed to ensure the safety of the nation was a guaranteed pass bill. In fact the Democrats and Republicans already effectively passed it prior to the final vote. Consequently, anything attached to it had to pass also, so the UIGEA was paper clipped to the Safe Port Act and the rest is history. Gamblers, therefore, seem to be expecting a similar move now by Harry Reid.
The question of course is which bill can Harry Reid attach HR2267 to that would guarantee passage? Right now there are over 100 bills for Reid to choose from and certainly one or more have to be sure things. But if there are can't miss bills currently before the Senate, they aren't readily apparent. Certainly any bills relating to health insurance or crime are unlikely to pass but there are some intriguing bills on the docket. A bill is currently on the table, introduced by Senator Rod Skoe of Minnesota that authorizes the placement of a plaque in the court of the Capitol grounds to honour American Indian veterans from Minnesota. Unfortunately while it's hard to envision any politician voting against that bill, it is also a localized bill so it may not be able to pass if a pro-gambling bill is attached to it. In fact there seems to be no bills on the table that, like the Safe Port Act, are critical for national security or the livelihood of the nation and therefore must pass. That could be the dilemma for Harry Reid right now. If he tries to attach the pro-gambling bill to another one which fails he will look foolish and it could actually hamper his chances in 2012. In fact a recent Gallop poll showed that Harry Reid's popularity stayed at 50% even after the midterm elections, while the popularity of most Republicans that were elected have gone up. In fact John Boehner has seen his popularity almost double since the midterm elections.
But doing nothing also won't help Reid's popularity. Nevada is currently struggling financially thanks to a combination of the recession, the introduction of more casinos in other states and of course offshore wagering. The DoJ may state that offshore gambling is illegal but few Nevada residents are listening or really care, plus the UIGEA does not make it illegal for a citizen to place a wager. Moreover, proponents of Reid like Barney Frank or John Pappas from the Poker Player's Association are banking on the Senator taking up the cause. Pappas has long asked for legislation to be enacted that either overturns the UIGEA or makes an amendment to allow skill games, including poker, and the PPA has been instrumental as a lobby group to promote pro-poker politicians as well as defeating those who oppose legalizing the game online. And at a recent conference in Las Vegas, Pappas suggested that Reid should try and pass HR2267 by whatever means is necessary.
The one concern about trying to introduce legislation to overturn the UIGEA at this point is the regulations. The Bush administration rammed through the UIGEA and then spent an inordinate amount of time trying to design regulations for the bill. The rules that were eventually written caused hardship on the banks and were totally ineffective. No doubt Reid wants to avoid a similar issue where he has to propose regulations on a bill that may not be realistic, but if that is a concern of his, he must just move forward anyways and worry about the ramifications later. After all, the online gambling legislation is critical for Nevada, New Jersey, California, Delaware and a host of other states that are relying on a repeal of the UIGEA to help them increase revenues. Studies showed that online gambling is a multi-billion dollar industry and if states don't come up with a way to introduce it now, the only ones that will continue to benefit are offshore sites which are happily taking money from Americans and don't care about U.S. legislation because it doesn't affect them.
Therefore, the following is a plea to Harry Reid.
Introduce the pro-gambling legislation to the Senate now and you'll see your rewards later. Bettors, other State Senators and Nevada casinos and citizens are relying on some sort of legislation being introduced before convening of Congress. You were given a mandate, so act on it. If you don't then your support from those groups mentioned could disappear in 2012.
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