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Lottery chiefs from seven states will travel to Washington next week where they will protest a draft bill to legalize Internet poker bill co-authored by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) and Senator Jon Kyl (R-Arizona).
Officials from Kentucky, Idaho, Washington state, Missouri, New Hampshire, Georgia and Iowa have signed up for the lobbying fly-in, said David Gale, executive director of the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries.
The current measure would ensure that Reid’s home state of Nevada reaps all the rewards for legalized online gambling at the federal level, though the bill only looks to exempt Internet poker from current prohibition. State lotteries are already exempt, however, they will not be able to run Web poker rooms or offer games such as keno or slot machines per the current draft legislation.
"The purpose of the trip is to just get our message out that gaming is a right that belongs to each individual state and it's up to each state to determine not just the games they offer but the manner in which they are offered to their players," Gale said Wednesday.
The bill stands a less-than 50 percent chance of passing during the abbreviated lame duck session.
A spokesperson for Harry Reid’s office claims the drafted bill leaked out to press organizations last month is likely to be revised prior to any possible votes.
- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
