US Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Holds Online Poker Hearing

The United States government continued hearings on the subject of online poker this week, with the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs holding their second hearing on the topic in under three months.

In the most recent hearing, much of the 90 minutes of discussion reportedly centered around the recent US Department of Justice opinion on the 1961 Wire Act. The Wire Act, which was originally designed to outlaw sports betting by phone or other remote wagering system, had been more recently cited as making nearly all forms of online gambling illegal. However, the Justice Department recently clarified their interpretation of the statute, saying that it was clearly intended only to apply to sports betting.

Some of the most interesting testimony came from I. Nelson Rose, a Senior Professor at Whittier Law School. He testified that there are no Federal laws that prevent states from “legalizing virtually any form of internet gambling other than sports betting.” He further pointed out that under current law, states could even make interstate compacts that would allow states to combine their player pools, and that it may even be possible for states to join international networks.

In some cases, the Wire Act ruling may even open the door to Native American tribes offering online poker. However, it’s not entirely clear to what extent this would be true. According to testimony by Alex Skibine, a professor at the S.J. Quinney College of Law, tribes that currently have compacts with their state governments would likely find themselves in the same legal position as the states, and could offer internet gaming. However, other tribes may be limited to offering online gambling on their reservations.

Indian casinos play a major role in the United States gambling scene, as many of the largest and most successful casinos around the country are operated by Native American groups. This helps explain the Indian Affairs Committee’s interest in the subject. Native American tribes have also been included in many state level discussions on the future of online poker, notably in California, where legislation proposed last year would have allowed for a statewide poker network operated by a compact of Indian casinos and poker rooms.