Barton Could Advance USA Online Poker Law This Week

According to several published reports, an online poker bill sponsored by Representative Joe Barton (R-Texas) could be introduced to the House of Representatives as early as this week. The bill would regulate online poker in the United States at the federal level, requiring sites to be licensed by a state gaming commission in a state that currently has casino gambling.

The bill contains a provision that would allow individual states to opt out of the online poker system, but provides incentives for states to take part in the system. Most notably, states that opt out of the poker network would not receive any revenue generated from the poker sites.

The bill was created by Barton in collaboration with the Poker Players Alliance. In addition, it has received vocal support from other legislators who have previously attempted to advance online poker legislation, including Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) and John Campbell (R-California).

Barton would start the bill in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, of which Barton is the chairman emeritus. Earlier attempts to pass online gambling legislation have begun in the Financial Services Committee, which ran into a rather sizable roadblock in the form of Spencer Bachus (R-Alabama), who has consistently opposed online gambling.

According to PPA executive director John Pappas, Barton’s standing in the Republican Party greatly enhances the bill’s chances of passing.

“He’s respected,” Pappas said, “not only with the more socially conservative, but the more fiscally conservative caucus within the House, and brings a really credible voice to this issue.”

Barton told the Las Vegas Sun that he believes online poker has significant support in Congress, even if it isn’t a high profile issue at the moment.

“It’s a sensitive issue, but an issue where there’s a majority consensus in the House and Senate to make this change,” he said.