Like most things of a politically officious nature, Joe Barton’s proposal for a framework that would legalize online poker in the United States has a delightfully long and somewhat mysterious name: “The Internet Gambling Prohibition, Poker Consumer Protection and Strengthening of the UIGEA Act of 2011”. It’s not an easy one to abbreviate, so instead everyone refers to it by its legislative numerical reference, “HR2366”, or “H.R. 2366 Online Poker Act of 2011”.
As set forth by Joe Barton in the summer of 2011, HR2366 lays out a blueprint for regulating online real money poker in the US. The following is a list of guidelines observed by the online poker bill.
Poker is a Game of Skill
The most important factor in HR2366 is that it declares poker as a game of skill. Up until now, the government has defined poker as “gambling”, a label that pertains to games of chance, where luck is the predominant factor in wins and losses. The Poker Player’s Alliance (PPA) has been pushing to have poker avowed as a game of skill since the UIGEA of 2006, and thus far, HR 2366 is the closest anyone has gotten to succeeding in that task. While it does nothing for ‘online casino gambling’, it could make a world of difference for online poker players.
No Credit Cards for Online Poker
Credit cards would be disallowed in regards to making online poker deposits. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. Buying lottery tickets with a credit card has been prohibited for years. Players must be able to use money that they already have, not money they will allegedly pay back later.
21+ to Play
Just like a brick and mortar poker room in the United States, players must be at least 21 years of age to participate. Again, no surprise there.
Self-Exclusion for Problem Gamblers
Anyone with a gambling problem will be able to add themselves to what Barton calls a ‘Master Self-Exclusion List’. When a person puts themselves on this list, they are thereby excluded from playing online poker at any US licensed poker site.
No Poker Bots
Poker bots are computer programs that play poker hands with precise calculations; thus a player is not required to think for himself, instead letting a program make all minimum-risk decisions. Poker bots would be outlawed by HR2366, as they already are at most offshore internet poker sites.
US Licensed Operators Only
HR 2366 makes it mandatory to obtain a state or tribal license via the Online Poker Act in order to legally operate an inter-state online poker site.
Office of Internet Poker Oversight
Barton’s bill seeks to establish a new government office, the Office of Internet Poker Oversight, to be directed by the Department of Commerce. This new office would be in control of overseeing the approval process of inter-state online poker licenses.
Inter-State Only
HR2366 was designed to regulate inter-state online gaming operations only, not intra-state.
Who Can Apply for an Inter-State Online Poker License?
The Barton Bill puts a great deal of effort into declaring who can and cannot apply for, or receive, a license to operate an online poker room. Basically, if you do not operate a land-based casino or poker room on US soil already, it’s going to be a long time, 2 to 5 years, before you can apply for a license.
Summary
The HR2366 Online Poker Act of 2011 is 101 pages long. It’s already been more than 6 months since it was proposed and the timeline grows longer by the day. It could be many more months, even years, before we see anything concrete happen. And even then, most assuredly the Barton Bill will be chopped to pieces and adhered in a whole new fashion before all is said and done, as is the nature of congress when modifying, (or as they see it ‘improving’), any proposal that comes their way.
American online poker enthusiasts have little more to do than write their local congressman and bide their time as there is no telling what HR2366 will look like by the time it finishes the processing stage; if it does in fact make its way through the House, past the president’s desk and into legislative veracity. The reversal of the DOJ’s stance on the wire act comes as good news however, and further opens the possibly for legal real money poker in the USA.