Rakeback poker – Online Poker Bill to be Marked Up Tomorrow

Tomorrow, could be a very important day for online poker players, the online poker sites and even us rakeback sites as well. It could be start of a long journey towards the regulation we have all been crying out for. Barney Frank’s Online poker bill HR2267 will be marked up tomorrow, July 27^th by the House Financial Services Committee.

Luckily for Frank this is a particular Committee that he chairs so it is likely the process will go a lot smoother than the hearing last week where comparisons to tyrannical Iran and China were made whilst some rather unpleasant analogies were made from the opposition. Wednesday 21^st July saw the House Financial Services Committee welcome witnesses to speak on behalf of the bill and in opposition.

Annie Duke speaking on behalf of the Poker Players Alliance and the general poker public compared the opposition to online poker were struggling with the mindset of a tyrannical China or Iran oppressing Americans’ rights to play poker. Meanwhile poker players were compared to heroin addicts by Rep. Spencer Bacchus (R-AL) and two other witnesses claimed that allowing current poker sites to run poker within new regulations would be like allowing Mexican and Columbian drug cartels to operate the drug industry in America if narcotics were ever legalised.

Whilst this is all very funny and the analogies border on the fantastical rather than hyperbole there is a very serious point for all poker players with a basic freedom taken from them which was rushed through by an administration already in trouble. Whilst we are obviously a huge fan of poker it is clear that regulation of the industry would create more jobs, deliver more revenue and has huge implications for tax revenue as well.

In a period where the national deficit is a topic of conversation in nearly every country in the world, the United States has an opportunity to plug a hole with the huge amount of revenue expected to be generated. It is estimated that federal and state governments would benefit from as much as $72bn in new revenues over ten years. This is according to Michael Waxman the spokesperson for the PPA.

July 27^th will be an important day for the online rakeback poker industry and may help clarify where we all stand. Barney Frank’s Hr 2267 currently has 69 co-sponsors and millions and millions of supporters.