US Congress Holds Further Talks on Online Poker
- by Thomas Baker
The US Congress will be holding further talks on 9th February to find out how the potential internet gaming industry might affect any participating tribes, although the witness list has not yet been confirmed.
Due to the recent flip-flop by the Department of Justice, the Senate oversight hearing will be looking closely at its current view on the Interstate Wire Act of 1961, a law that is considered obsolete in stopping the growth in online intrastate poker.
Representative Joe Barton’s (R-TX) online poker bill has stalled and come to a halt and it was heavily criticised at the last hearing before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. Ernie Stevens, chairperson of the National Indian Gaming Association, said the measure flies in the face of tribes to act as their own governments and decide upon appropriate taxation measures and that it “violates the core principals of tribes.”
The chairperson of Connecticut’s Mohegan Tribe, Bruce Bozsum, has major misgivings about the bill, too. Despite this, he has constantly said that his group has always intended to join the online poker market. It is reported that Governor Daniel Malloy is looking at plans to place the state’s tribal gaming groups at the forefront of the online gaming industry.
Many people are totally against online gambling. Glen Gobin, chairperson of the Washington-based Tulalip Tribes, said at the November hearing that the $25 billion annual spending attributed to tribal gaming was under threat from online casino games. On the other hand, Alfonse D’Amato, former U.S. Senator and chairperson of the Poker Players Alliance, stated at the last hearing he believed tribal gaming would not be adversely affected by poker-only legislation
Despite all these differing opinions, the Indian groups are unified in their belief that the Barton Bill excludes them from deciding how the industry will be run.