Illinois Lawmakers Propose Online Poker Bill
Illinois lawmakers have proposed a bill that could legalize online poker and expand its current gambling offerings while simultaneously restricting major industry leaders in many ways. Caesars Entertainment is all set to become the major online gambling company in Illinois, having already chalked out plans to enter Illinois, a thickly populated state that has the potential to generate massive player fields.
In a bid to expand its existing regulated gambling industries, lawmakers of Illinois are now trying to convince Pat Quinn, governor of Illinois, who had rejected similar bills in the past, but had stated that he is willing to consider proposals that could boost the state’s revenue. Quinn had stated that he wants to prioritize education and elimination of corruption within the state. The latest gambling bill not only addresses the above-mentioned issues, but also seek to re-introduce the component of online gambling, which failed to get the governor’s approval in June 2012.
If the bill gets the governor’s approval, gambling companies already licensed in Illinois will become the only companies eligible to launch online gambling products within the state. Interestingly, the bill has a “bad actor clause” preventing operators who violated US laws from applying for an Illinois gaming license for as many as 10 years.
The bill also has the power to block software vendors known to have violated US laws for an indefinite period of time. This clause renders all software providers who had operated in the US ineligible to apply for a license, and this includes major operators such as Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars. It also includes all those who operated in the US before the federal government passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in 2006, such as Boss Media, Microgaming, Party Poker, iPoker, Ongame, and Microgaming.
On the other hand, it leaves the doors of Illinois open to software providers such as Barriere, one of the few software providers that had never accepted players in the US. Barriere, which had launched late in 2010, operates an online poker network in France. However, Barriere has a long way to go before it can capture attention.
Donald A. Colvin, CFO and executive vice president for Caesars, said: “We have 2 [online poker] tracks underway … The first is the use of the 888 software with minor modification, and we have the right to use that software and introduce it, for example, in Nevada under what we consider to be quite reasonable terms.”
He further said, “We also … acquired the right to use and customize the software platform of Barriere Digital all from France. … We have developers working on its modification to suit the World Series of Poker as we speak. So at some point when that modification is complete, we’d anticipate that we might migrate off of the 888 platform and onto the Barriere platform in due time.”
However, the bill does not place any restrictions on software once used to provide real money online poker to US players, but now acquired by an operator based in Illinois.
-
Recent Tips for Real Money Poker Players:
