Check this out.  Two one-time, and current, rivals have joined forces against a common enemy and sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General critiquing the federal government for not regulating poker.  With this uniting of forces, perhaps the Congress will be unified as well and push through joint legislation.  For once in my life, I actually am saying “Tax Me, PLEASE!”

The poker world had been in a tizzy recently amid speculation of whether Sen. Reid’s proposed poker bill, and its 15-month blackout period, would become law.  Sadly, or maybe not so sadly for others, there is nothing left to discuss.  The bill has been taken off the table.  We may now go back to discussing the merits of intrastate online poker and when (if) New York will decide to cash in on what are predicted to be almost record-breaking Wall Street bonuses by legalizing live poker in New York City.  Okay, maybe that’s just me.

Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is offering legislation would legalize online poker, but allow only certain current brick-and-mortar establishments to host the sites for the first two years.  Regulation would be done by current agencies, such as the Nevada Gaming Commission, and not by the federal government.  Two predictable things have occurred so far:  (1) the legislation is supported by major Nevada casinos (who, ahem, donated significantly to Senator Reid’s hotly contested recent re-election campaign), and (2) Republican legislators, led by Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL), oppose the bill — they claim that important legislation that affects “the young, the weak, and the vulnerable in the name of new revenues to cover more government spending” should not be passed during the lame duck session of Congress. 

Normally I’m against cramming legislation in to beat a deadline and in a manner that prays on weakness.  But given how the UIGEA was passed, turnabout seems like fair play.  Still, I do have serious concerns that prevent me from automatically supporting the legislation.  They center around who supports this bill.  Internet poker should be legal.  But to do it as a means to expand brick-and-mortar casino profits, and not as part of an overarching national framework, seems short-sighted and ultimately counter-productive to the game’s acceptance.  The UIGEA should be repealed.  But it should not be supplanted by a special interest bill designed for corporate gain.   Two wrongs do not make a right.