Iowa was almost guaranteed to be the first state to legalize online poker on a state level in the United States. After two weeks of discussions, now it seems that online poker is not going to be a legal form of gambling in the state of Iowa. “It’s abundantly clear we would not have anywhere near the votes for passage of what many considered would be the largest expansion of gambling in the history of the United States of America,” Iowa’s House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy told
the Des Moines Register newspaper. The legislative session will conclude in two weeks.

Unfortunately, Iowan legislators could not decide on how to move forward with online gambling. They’ve even decided to abandon plans to expand land-based gambling within the state. The debate over online poker has strained the views of politicians to the point that some of them are no longer interested in discussing any form of gambling expansion within the state of Iowa.

Three other states have been discussing legal online poker. New Jersey, California, and Florida has been talking about legalizing the activity, while Florida is the only other state to introduce a bill to legalize online poker. It is estimated that Iowa could have brought in at least $11 million in extra revenue each year from online poker. Iowa’s online poker direction leaves Iowans anxiously waiting for the federal government to license and regulate the online poker industry.

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Post tags: iowa, online poker, poker, poker regulation, us poker

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Iowa politicians did not initially approve of online casino gambling, but it seems that
they are now on the verge of legalizing some aspects of online gambling within the state.

The primary focus is on the online poker industry and experts have stated that Iowa
could generate as much as $80 million in extra revenue by legalizing the activity.
State Representative, Brian Quirk has stated that there are over 80,000 poker
players in Iowa that would soon be able to participate in online poker tournaments.

The new law is very straight forward and it will allow Iowans to play online poker
games from the comfort of their homes. There are 17 casinos in Iowa and players
will be able to deposit their funds over the Internet and begin playing online
poker games against fellow residents of the state of Iowa. Unfortunately,
this restricts residents from playing at gambling sites outside of Iowa.

This new bill is a step in the right direction but it seems to be too little
too late. Online casino gambling has already swept the nation and Americans
are playing poker at online poker rooms with 50,000+ players online at any
given time. Any online poker room for Iowa residents won’t have as many
of the perks or the incredible draw that existing poker rooms already have.

© Felicia for Casino News Authority, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: casino gambling, gambling, gambling bill, iowa, online gambling

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