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North Dakota Poker Bill Squashed in Full Senate Vote
http://www.igamingnews.comA North Dakota bill that would have allowed the state to become a licensing jurisdiction for Internet poker was handily defeated in the state Senate today by a vote of 44-3.
The bill passed through the state’s House or Representatives in February by a vote of 49-43. The success in the House prompted many I-gaming industry representatives to jump in to support the bill by providing testimony to the Senate committee overseeing the bill.
A fierce blow was given to the bill last week however in the form of a letter issued by the Department of Justice, stating that it believes the poker bill to be a violation of the federal Wire Act. The letter likely influenced the vote of many senators, despite the testimony from many in the industry who claim that the Wire Act applies only to sports betting.
What they got against us?Thanks for the article…. looks bad for us :stirpot:
Very frustrating, especially as I understand that they were very supportive of the industry representative arguments (of which Paradise’s CEO, Nigel Payne was one).
I view it as a start and first attempt. There are going to be more of them, I have no doubt.
The next one’s will be better equipped to counter the ridiculous claim that this has anything whatsoever to do with the wire act.
If at first you don’t succeed…..
:fencing:
I agree with Dom, there will be more attempts. I think it is like alcohol and prohibition (spelling?), the gov. will get greedy and decide that because people are already doing it, they can tax it. So it will go along with alcohol, tobacco and other “sin” taxes. For once, I think this might be a good thing, because if US operators can run online casinos and poker rooms, US players will feel more confident in the safety of playing online. Just my 2 cents.
Pokermonger
there’s only one thing wrong in your thinking PM, and that is; if it goes legal; we won’t be needed anymore.
advertising on tv, and other brick and mortar methods, will obliviate the need for any kind of poker portal.
The advice sites might still get some action, but the majority of us are dead in water if it happens. Imagine: you are already seeing party poker ads everywhere, promoting their .net version as a way to learn. Imagine how polluted the media will become with ads for poker rooms if its allowed?
trust me; it won’t be good for 90% of us here.
ps
I hope i’m dead wrong.
we won’t be needed anymore.
Oh yes we will. Anyone selling anything whatsoever on the internet is starting to use affiliates. We will be able to advertise online and offline ourselves.
No one is going to throw out people who will work for free and ask for no benefits and take all the risk and just ask for a % of the profit they create.
You just can’t beat an affiliate system in efficiency of advertising.
I agree with Dominique – Affiliates will always be needed to bring in the Players. However, having said that, as with the Poker Sites themselves, the minute it is regulated, many will fall away, as they will not be able to accept the regulations imposed.
It will simply clean up the industry.
Stephen
Not Dead Yet – ND Legislator Holds out Hope for Defeated Poker Bill
Despite an overwhelming defeat in the Senate, the main sponsor of a House bill to regulate and license online poker rooms in North Dakota is hopeful his measure can still become law.
The full Senate vote was expected to come later in the week, but it was brought before the full Senate on Monday and was roundly defeated 44-3. The bill’s main sponsor, Rep. Jim Kasper, R-Fargo, is still optimistic that the legislature can push through his companion House bill, which would send the issue to the voters through an amendment to the state’s constitution. That bill passed in the House in February by a 49-43 vote.
“It isn’t dead yet,” Kasper said. “There is a lot of support for the idea of putting the issue to a vote of the people.”
Even if that happens, the legislature would have to additionally pass a bill outlining regulations for the industry before betting Internet poker operations can be allowed. And if such an enabling bill isn’t in place by the end of the legislature’s current session (which could come as early as April or as late as June), the measure would have to wait until at least January 2007 when the legislature reconvenes. State constitutional amendments will go before voters in the June 2006 general election.
Kasper was hoping to lobby Senators for support in anticipation of a vote on Wednesday or Thursday, but the strategy was squelched by the earlier-than-expected full Senate vote.
Sens. Connie Triplett, D-Grand Forks, John Syverson, R-Fargo, and Jack Traynor, R-Devils Lake, backed the measure; . They supported it in the Senate Judiciary Committee, which reviewed the legislation.
Sen. Jack Traynor, R-Devils Lake, one of three senators to back the bill, was disappointed that the Senate as a whole wouldn’t want to leave the decision n the hands of the people.
“It strikes me that we should let the people of the state decide if they want this,” Traynor said. “The promoters have told us it could amount . . . to some significant economic activity in our communities.”
Adding to Kasper’s surprise was that a handful of amendments l (allowing for a defense fund to finance a potential court battle with the U.S. Department of Justice if they challenged the legality of the bill, and another one creating an operational fund to help the state offset the initial cost of regulating the industry) were passed in the Senate.
Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem estimated it would cost at least $1 million over two years to regulate the industry, so to keep the bill from having a fiscal note, an amendment was added to have the industry fund those costs.
Ultimately, the bill couldn’t overcome the possibility of a challenge from the federal department of justice and a feeling among senators that regulated Internet gambling would bring more harm than good into the state.
Stenehjem and the state’s governor, John Hoeven, declined to publicly endorse the legislation, even after the amendments were added to the bill upon Stenehjem’s request.
Also working against the bill was the dark cloud hovering above the state following the recent Racing Services Inc., in which the company’s owner was convicted for running an illegal off-track betting service out of Fargo.
“Gambling seems to lead to corruption,” Sen. Bill Bowman, R-Bowman, pointed out in reference to the RSI case. “Once you’ve lost the money that you wagered, if you don’t have it to lose, what’s the next thing you do? You have to try to get it back some way. A lot of times, it leads to very bad decisions.”
Kasper said he and his supporters will continue to lobby in the Senate for a constitutional amendment bill. He said a vote could come as early as this week, but will more than likely come next week.
All hope is not lost…
StephenI think that anyone that can survive as a gambling affiliate of any kind in todays competitive environment has enough business sense and abilities to adjust when the landscape changes. In addition, when I started playing poker on the Internet, I didn’t just sign up with the room that had the most advertising. I researched many rooms online before making my decision. Even today, with accounts at about 12-15 rooms I rarely play at Party or Stars who are the two biggest rooms by far. I think that there are many players that seek the information and services of affiliates, even if they don’t know what an affiliate is.
Also, marketing is the name of the game and an affiliate that markets well will make out OK whether they are marketing gambling or not. For instance, if you market poker, how much is the percentage of your poker income that comes from your top 10 players, or your top 20. Volume is good but 10 whales are better than 100 minnows, especially in poker because the whales can keep winning and paying rake. The key is marketing to the correct players, and I think that those players are less likely to blindly sign up because of a TV commercial.
Of course I could be wrong about all of this because I am not a successful affiliate yet. My knowledge is from the brick and mortar business world, but the same concepts apply. Good marketing is using the tools available to you to the greatest of your advantage whether online or off.
Pokermonger
Its not dead. Bill 1509 established the rules for the commission. They submitted an amendment to the ND consitiution and that ALLOWS online poker. The Amendment is still very much alive.
Representative Kasper (author of ND Bill 1509) will be at the Casino Affiliate Convention in Las Vegas Sept 11-12.
Marc Lesnick
