Written by :
Published on :
Opposition to a possible bill to legalize Internet poker at the federal level is growing with the possibility that any law could be challenged in court and potentially be ruled unconstitutional.
A “penalty box” mentioned as part of the draft legislation being pushed by two Nevada Senators would prohibit overseas operators from obtaining licenses over a period of five years.
Former U.S. solicitor general Paul Clement says the bill being drafted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., "raises serious due process concerns."
From the Las Vegas Review Journal:
(Clement) said it would deprive the providers of "significant property interest," and could be considered an unconstitutional "bill of attainder" because it effectively singles out a group for punishment without adequate protections for their rights.
Clement said he found similar flaws in an online poker bill that Reid and Kyl proposed late in 2010.
"In my view, the 2012 act suffers from the exact same problems as the 2010 act, and in some instances, the 2012 act's constitutional infirmities are even more pronounced," Clement said in a five-page memo sent to Kyl on Oct. 31.
Scroll Down For More...
Reid anticipates a legal challenge and, as such, has included a clause that allows for portions of the bill not in dispute to remain in effect.
Individual US states will also be Disenfranchised should the federal bill pass as it stands now. Only Nevada would license online poker operators.
The National Governors Association and the National Conference of State Legislatures have objected to the current draft legislation as they will be deprived from raising funds through online lotteries and other forms of Internet gambling such as sports betting. States like New Jersey expect to pass a law allowing real money Web gambling by year’s end. Neighboring Delaware has already done so.
Reid is still looking for opportunities to pass his bill through the Senate during the lame duck session of Congress.
"We don't have a path forward right now, but we're working" on it, he told a National Journal reporter.
- Ace King, Gambling911.com
