Joe Barton Introduces US Online Poker Bill

He's been there are he done it before, but Rep. Joe Barton who has proposed online poker bills in the past, obviously unsuccessfully, is giving it another shot and this time he truly believes that in time, this bill will pass. The bill is yet to be introduced formally, but it's on it way, and it is strictly a poker bill, no casino games, and most definitely no sports wagering. Barton openly stated that he of course knew many people in the US were playing online poker, he mentioned no names but was of course referring to online poker rooms that accept players from the US, such as Americas Cardroom and BetOnline Poker. Without seeming too worried about these operations his main concern was that that were few safeguards in place for US players.

Barton's previous bill back in 2012 did make a little ripple but failed to gain any real headway and the fact the upcoming elections were on most peoples minds didn't help matters either, however he is prepared to give things another go. In an interview with Gambling Compliance he said that "time is on our side," and when asked what he believed the bills chances were he stated that, it's no a matter of if, it's a matter of when it passes, of course, there are many steps to go through before it's even started to be considered. There's also a clause that will be in the new bill whereas states may opt out of Federal legislation, and all that takes is a letter from the state Governor to confirm that they wish to play no part in it. In the interview he also mentioned the irony of the fact that the most popular form of poker, Texas Hold'em is named after a state that has extremely harsh rules on playing the game itself, with no poker being allowed in casinos at all. He ended by saying that passing any law at Federal level takes a lot of time and patience, a lot like becoming a good poker player.