Poker in the News

Proponents of North Dakota's bill to make the state a home for Internet poker sites face stiff opposition from the U.S. government.

In letters to Nevada and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Justice Department attorneys have said they believe Internet gambling runs afoul of federal laws against using wire communications to place bets.

The agency responded when legislatures in Nevada and the Virgin Islands approved bills to authorize and regulate Internet casinos.

"Moreover, the federal money laundering statutes are applicable to unlawful Internet gambling businesses," Michael Chertoff, then an assistant U.S. attorney general, said in an August 2002 letter to the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

Chertoff is now head of the federal Department of Homeland Security.

Rep. Jim Kasper, R-Fargo, is sponsoring legislation that would authorize North Dakota's attorney general to license and regulate Internet poker sites, and the players that patronize North Dakota-based sites.

No other state licenses Internet poker sites. They are now based in several countries, including Costa Rica and Antigua, a Caribbean island nation.

Kasper's legislation, which was narrowly approved in the House, is getting its first Senate hearing Tuesday. Kasper said he has consulted attorneys about whether his bill would violate federal law, and he believes the issue is not as clear-cut as the Justice Department believes.

"A lot of these things are veiled threats ... to try to stop something that they know if it goes through, will ultimately not be what they want," Kasper said. "It probably is bluffing, and I believe the stakes are high enough that the state of North Dakota, and the people of our state, need to call their bluff."

Supporters of the legislation point to a November 2002 ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, in which a three-judge panel concluded a federal anti-gambling law, called the Wire Act, did not apply to all Internet gambling. It was intended to target sports wagering, the judges said.

I'm a huge supporter of state rights. Local government over a centralized government. In essence, something that most conservatives preach-- until a state wants to do something that conservatives object too, like legalizing same-sex marriages, medical marijuana, or online poker. It's a bullshit hypocritical stance that Republicans take, and it's about time that states start flexing some muscle and challenging the feds.

AP Wire | 03/05/2005 | Internet poker bill: Feds say it's illegal

The online gambling company UKbetting announced that they have launched an online poker site. The poker room is in addition to their sports-betting and casino site at www.goldbet.com .

The most interesting part of the story is this:

Online gambling has grown to $9.2 billion globally since its birth in 1995 and is forecast to produce a 22 percent compound annual growth rate between 2003 and 2008, driven in particular by poker, said the report (by investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein).

Online gambling is BIG-- I hope that North Dakota is able to get in on it.

Internet News Article | Reuters.co.uk

Greg Raymer, 2004 World Series of Poker champion, will be in Bismarck, North Dakota, next week to help lobby for a bill to allow North Dakota to license Internet poker sites.

The bill has been sponsored by Fargo Representative Jim Kasper, and, if passed, will pit the state of North Dakota against the U.S. government in a battle over the legality of internet gambling.

KXMA News

United Media is launching a weekly poker column written by Phil Hellmuth, the nine-time World Series of Poker champion.

The column will be carried by such newspapers as the Denver Rocky Mountain News, the Detroit Free Press, and the Wisconsin State Journal.

Hellmuth currently writes a column for CardPlayer magazine and has authored two books. He is also frequently seen behaving poorly in televised poker tournaments.

United Introduces Poker Column

The "Texas Hold'em Poker bill" proposed by Senator Dave Kleis of St. Cloud has passed through both the Senate Agriculture, Veterans and Gaming commitees and the Gaming Division of the House Regulated Industries commitee.

The bill proposes to make poker tournaments with prizes worth no more than $200 legal in Minnesota.

St. Cloud Times |

A bill allowing people to play Texas Hold'em in charity events passed the Oregon House in a near-unanimous vote, 56-1, and now goes to the Oregon State Senate.

Current law only allows for charity games where players are betting against the house, like blackjack, roulette and craps. The proposed bill would allow charity games where players bet against one another.

House doesn't fold on Texas Hold 'Em