Poker Player Drafts Own Federal Poker Bill
This was published 26-07-2013Mark Shapiro, a very enthusiasticUSpoker player, who is known at online poker forums as PokerXanadu, has decided to create his own law proposal in an attempt to reduce the friction in the legislative process.
Shapiro believes that his proposal is player-friendly enough to satisfy the many poker fans in the country while at the same time is strict enough to satisfy gambling opponents. Shapiro is currently seeking a powerful lawmaker to take on the proposal.
Legislators at the state as well as the federal level in theUShave experienced extreme difficulty drafting online poker legislation that would be acceptable to the huge range of stakeholders and onlyDelaware,NevadaandNew Jerseyhave thus far been able to enact laws that regulate online poker. Several other states and federal lawmakers have, however attempted to do so in the past few years.
Shapiro revealed that he has undertaken the venture as no one else was doing it and that every bill that has thus far been introduced to Congress has been an incomplete bill and was not passable as it was only appealing to a limited number of vested interests. Shapiro added that he decided that it was time to come out with a bill that covered every issue, preserves all the protections and rights of players and sufficiently meets the needs of all the major vested interests in a compromise with which they can support.
The act drawn up by Shapiro covers topics such as taxation of operators and consumers, licensing, regulatory oversight, enforcement measures, protection of consumers as well as updates to the existing federal laws which include the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), the Illegal Gambling Business Act (IGBA), and the Wire Act.
Shapiro is concentrating on a poker-only bill as he is of the opinion that this has more chance of passing through Congress. He is hoping that someone with influence in DC will carry this bill forward and intends presenting his work to Reps. King and Barton as well asUSSenators fromNevada, Harry Reid and Dean Heller, who are both in favor of federal regulation of online poker. His
