Texas bill would legalize poker

TEXAS -- November 26, 2008 – An amended bill seeking to legalize and regulate poker rooms has been introduced in the state legislature.

Poker Gaming Act 2009
Democratic State Representative Jose Menendez re-launched HB222 in the House of Representatives after a previous attempt to introduce laws legalizing and regulating poker fell apart at the committee stage.

If passed, the Poker Gaming Act 2009 would require that all poker gaming in Texas be regulated and licensed by the Texas Lottery Commission.

The bill will allow for a wide range of applicants to host poker gaming, including bars, tribal-gaming interests and charitable organizations.

The bill would also form a Poker Gaming Revenue Fund, which would be used on social projects for the homeless.

Menendez told local radio he is not interested in seeing poker rooms "on every corner around the state," pointing out that the aim of this bill was to ensure the game could exist in a regulated format.

Poker, Texas style
Texas is obviously a big poker-playing state, given that it was there that Texas Holdem, the most popular variant of poker in the world today - was invented around a century ago.

Menendez noted that there is a need to amend the current laws banning the game to make room for certain instances in which poker is played, such as the need for a venue to collect a bit of the pot to pay for certain things such as air-conditioning.

He justified the bill on the grounds that requiring licensing would prevent the proliferation of poker rooms and that it would also improve security, given that illegal poker games are an easier target for robbers who know they have nothing to fear from police involvement.

Source: Online Casino Reports

Related Articles:

• Bill seeks to legalize poker in Texas - Sherri Geller, PokerListings.com (2008-11-26)

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U.S. Congressman Frank Announces Legislation to Repeal UIGEA

Barney Frank, the U.S. Congressman (D-MA) who has been outspoken of his criticism of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act [UIEGA] in recent weeks, today introduced legislation designed to overturn the UIGEA, which Frank recently described as "one of the stupidest things I ever saw."

Congressman Frank's new bill will attempt to render the UIGEA unenforceable by establishing a set of rules under which U.S. banking institutions will be able to accept transactions from properly licensed and regulated gambling services. These criteria include proper certification of fair, 'state-of-the-art' software systems, age-verification systems, programs for problems gamblers, privacy and security safeguards, taxable-income reporting, and other, related technological concerns.

Frank, as Chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, exerts extensive control over regulation affecting the banking and financial-services sectors, and his bill can be seen as much as an attempt to rid banks and processors of the legislated need to serve as societal nannies than as any embracing of online poker or gambling itself.
The 26-page bill introduced by Frank is titled the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act of 2007, and at this point has not yet received an official House of Representatives (H.R.) bill designation. The bill calls for the creation of an 'Internet Licensing Gambling Program', with oft-cited money-laundering concerns neatly handled by the bill's requirements for applicants.

Those applicants are, essentially, required to provide three things: a) complete corporate financial statements for the applying party; b) documentation showing the complete corporate structure including related businesses and affairs; and c) a willingness to be subject to United States jurisdiction in all gambling matters. Unsurprisingly, the legislation also indemnifies banking institutions and officials for payment-processing activities undertaken with good faith and within the properly regulated constructs of the measure.

Under the proposed law, gambling licenses would be issued for 1-year, continually-rolling periods, with all licensees expected to adhere to ongoing U.S. anti-terrorism efforts. All of these licensing and regulatory efforts would fall under the control of the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, who would in turn report to the Secretary of the Treasury.
The bill also allows 'opt-outs' for Indian tribal lands and professional sports leagues; those leagues may choose to have their sports removed from licensed wagering services, but properly puts the onus on those leagues for doing so, rather than profiteering from the existing of betting lines while officially decrying the practice.

Source: PokerNews.com - U.S. Congressman Frank Announces Legislation to Repeal UIGEA

Public Hearing On Poker Bill Tommorrow

Bill Would Allow Live Poker to Be Played in Texas

A bill that would allow poker to be played publicly in Texas will have a public hearing in Austin tomorrow. The bill is currently in the Texas House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee, which will decide whether to move it forward or kill it.

The bill, sponsored by Democrat Representative Jose Menendez of San Antonio, would allow poker to be spread by licensed public establishments, would regulate the game to ensure public safety and fairness, and would officially recognize poker as a game of skill in Texas.

If the bill makes it through committee and eventually receives enough votes to make it a law, two types of poker licenses would be made available: charitable and commercial. Also, an operation license assigned to the building would be needed to legally hold both commercial and charity poker games.

A commercial operator would be allowed to have only four tables at a time. Pari-mutuel establishments would be allowed to have more, but the exact number hasn’t been decided yet. The bill would also allow electronic poker tables, such as the PokerPro touch-screen table, to be set up.

The bill would allow tournaments up to $100 (with a $30 fee). Table stakes will be established by each individual operator.

The game would of course be taxed in Texas, with 50 percent of the tax dollars going directly to municipalities, counties, and nonprofit organizations that provide benefits to the homeless population. This includes sheltering services, medical care, and renovating existing shelters.

The public hearing takes place sometime after noon tomorrow (April 3), in the Licensing and Administrative Procedures room E2.156. Depending on the public witnesses and how the hearing goes, the committee could move the bill forward, kill it, or do nothing tomorrow.

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UPDATE

2007-05-14: Legislative Technicality Kills Texas Poker Bill (Haley Hintze, PokerWire)