Two Hearings on Internet Poker Scheduled for This Week

Written by:
C Costigan
Published on:
Nov/15/2011
Two Hearings on Internet Poker Scheduled for This Week

It’s a busy week for the Internet poker sector as two hearings will be held in Washington regarding the legalization and regulation of the activity in the USA.  A previous hearing took place last month.

Thursday November 17 there will be a Senate Committee hearing that will focus exclusively on Indian affairs called “The Future of Internet Gaming, What’s at Stake for Tribes?”

Currently, the powerful tribal casinos are seen as the main obstacle standing in the way of legalized Internet poker.  Tribal casinos have expressed fears that are similar to those Vegas casinos worried about during the early years of online gambling:  that gamblers will stay home and gamble on their computers as opposed to physically traveling to the casinos.  Lawmakers also noted that, just as individual states will be permitted to opt out from offering online poker, the Indian sovereign nations will also be allowed to do the same.

Friday’s hearing will be in front of the sub-committee of Commerce, Marketing and Trade and entitled “Internet Gaming:  Regulating in an Online World”.  During the first hearing, politicians expressed fears over under aged gamblers and the potential for cheating.

- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher

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