All Signs Pointing to Legalization of Online Poker in America

American Online Games

2011 will be the year when online poker will be finally legalized and regulated in the United States.

All Signs Pointing to Legalization of Online Poker in America

A number of interesting and seemingly unrelated events this week in the world of online gambling is jolting online casino insiders with renewed confidence that 2011 will be the year when online poker will be finally legalized and regulated in the United States.

Online legislation is being pushed towards legal gambling in United States from too many directions. It’s now only a matter for politicians to figure out how to position themselves to benefit most.

Senators Reid & Kyl Ask Justice Dep. Position on Online Gambling

Last week’s joint letter by Senate Majority leader Reid (D) and Senate Republican Whip Kyl to the Justice Department looks quite depressing on the surface. The Senators seem to admonish Justice for allowing the spread of illegal USA online casinosfor so long without taking action earlier.

They demand an explanation of Justice Dept. position on intrastate online gambling, reminding Justice that online gambling is illegal under the Wire Act because of the very nature of the internet, and conclude the letter by offering to work on legislation to boost punishment for providers of illegal online gambling in the United States.

Analysis of Senators Online Gambling Letter

In reality, a number of clues supporting legalization of online poker this year can be found within the letter. The Senators are telling Justice to cool off any more action against online gambling. They are questioning why Justice all of a sudden woke up to the existence of online poker after ignoring it for over a decade and especially at a time when a number of states are on the cusp of approving legalized intrastate online poker and in the case of Washington D.C., a full blown American online casino.

Politicians don’t have a reputation of being sly and cunning for nothing. The Senators want Justice to announce that it’s the government’s position that all forms of online casino games and internet casinos in America are illegal.

This way, by approving one of the poker regulation bills this year, the Senators would be able to later say (if legalized online poker works out great) that it was them who overturned the unpopular Justice Department interpretation of the Wire Act.

If online poker becomes a disaster, since neither of the Senators h co-sponsored any of the online poker bills, they will be untouched by any scandal. This entire letter boils down to setting up a great way to milk the most political points out of the legalization of online poker.

“Efforts to carve out an exception for games like poker, which many believe is a game of skill, may be considered later this year … I will consider them carefully as long as they leave in place the broader proscriptions against online betting,” Senator Kyl writes on his website.

Coming from the man who is responsible for the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) and the greatest foe of American online gambling since the previous century, that’s quite a statement. Luckily, Senator Kyl will not seek reelection. Halleluiah!