Iowa Forges Ahead With Legalized Internet Poker

Could Iowa soon become the hub for legalized Internet poker in the Midwest USA?

Backers of a bill to legalize online poker managed to get the measure passed through the Iowa Senate on Tuesday with a vote of 29-20.

Senate File 2275 would allow for operators to partner with Iowa-licensed casinos under the control of the state Racing and Gaming Commission.  Iowa is looking to forge relationships with other states in an effort to build a viable pool of players the state’s current population is unlikely to sustain.  Supporters of the measure say legalized online poker could bring between $2.9 million to $13.2 million in yearly tax revenue for the state.

“I think this is an issue whose time has come,” said Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Waterloo, the bill floor manager who called S.F. 2275 a consumer protection act. “If not now, it will not go away.”

A Republican-controlled house could elect not to deal with the issue this session, however, and the bill does have its critics.  That said, there were no objections raised during Tuesday’s vote in the Senate.

Iowa is one of a handful of states currently considering legalizing Web gambling. 

This week, New Jersey lawmakers learned that a bill to legalize Internet gambling would not require a voter referendum, therefore paving the way for it to become only the second state after Nevada to legalize Internet poker, perhaps as early as this week. 

On Monday, an attempt to pass similar legislation in Mississippi failed.

- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com