Iowa Legislators May Introduce Online Poker Bill

Iowa could be set to vote on a bill that would make them one of the first jurisdictions in the United States to regulate online poker. However, proponents of the legislation expect a tough fight in a state that has already visited this issue before in recent years.

As with many other states, the question of online poker has again been raised in Iowa thanks to the recent Justice Department ruling which determined that the Wire Act only prohibits online sports betting, and not other online gambling. That left many local and state government officials around the country more confident that regulated online poker in their jurisdictions would pass muster.

According to reports based on an article on IowaPolitics.com, State Senator Jeff Danielson plans to introduce a bill this month that would explicitly legalize and regulate online poker in Iowa. However, other legislators have already come out in opposition of the bill over fears that it will only increase the number of problem gamblers in the state.

Unlike in many states, the future of this bill in Iowa may not have much to do with the income the state could generate through online poker. Iowa is currently running a budget surplus, and the revenues that the state would take in are estimated to only be somewhere between $3 and $13 million each year. That’s significant, but would be just a small part of the state budget.

When the bill is introduced, it will still have a long way to go before being voted on by the entire General Assembly. However, it would still likely put Iowa ahead of the curve when it comes to state efforts to regulate online poker. Thus far, Nevada appears to be the jurisdiction closest to starting intrastate online poker; while Washington D.C. also made moves towards creating an online poker network, those plans now appear to be on hold. Several other states are expected to push for online poker or other forms of online gambling in the coming months, including New York, New Jersey and California.