Rep. Joe Barton Readies New Online Poker Bill

Long-time supporter of online poker regulation, Texas Rep. Joe Barton, is preparing a new federal online poker bill that will likely be introduced by the end of April.

That announcement came on the heels of last week's congressional hearing that took a look at the Restoration of America's Wire Act (RAWA) - the Sheldon Adelson-backed bill that aims to do away with online poker and gambling in the U.S. The House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security debated the merits of RAWA on March 25 in what many felt was a sham of a hearing considering that a number of the expert witnesses seemed out of touch with igaming facts.

Barton's new proposal will challenge RAWA and give federal legislators another option to consider in the online gaming fight between pro and anti forces that began following a 2011 DoJ decision that gave states the right to enact igaming legislation. Gambling has long been considered an issue for individual states to decide and the DoJ ruling clarified those rights pertaining to Internet gambling.

“Folks who think they can stand in a pulpit and tell people how to run their lives and tell states how to run their businesses don’t see the same Constitution I do,” Barton told the Star-Telegram, taking a shot at both Adelson and Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the sponsor of RAWA.

Barton's new proposal will follow the same lines as previous bills he introduced in years past. It would permit online poker and allow states to determine whether or not to also offer Internet casino games. The right to opt out of poker would be available to states such as Utah that have no intention of providing online gambling to residents.

Supporters of RAWA continue to mistakenly assert that children would be able to gamble online and that the number of problem gamblers would increase substantially if regulation were permitted . Barton's measure aims to appease those critics by requiring deposits by debit card - not credit cards - and establishing a regulatory agency to spot players who may be overdoing it.