AGA applauds federal egaming efforts
CEO and president Geoff Freeman says intrastate online gambling "free-for-all" needs to be curbed
The American Gaming Association (AGA) has urged the US Senate to take action regarding online poker legislation to avoid an online gambling “free-for-all” at the state level.
New AGA president Geoff Freeman said in a statement that as online poker is “here to stay”, Congress must act to ensure there are minimum regulatory standards and consumer protection in place.
Freeman, who was speaking following the Senate Subcommittee hearing on consumer protection this week, said the “reasonable” approach to online poker regulation proposed by the gaming industry is under threat by the current gambling expansion taking place at the state level.
“If the federal government fails to rapidly act, the United States may soon experience the largest expansion of gambling in its history, including online slots, blackjack and other traditional casino games of chance,” he said.
The AGA praised the current Senate Commerce Subcommittee hearing, titled ‘The Expansion of Internet Gambling: Assessing Consumer Protection Concerns’ for bringing the subject of federal regulation into the spotlight.
The key issues, it said, included the need to modernise federal laws to effectively combat criminal enterprise and unsafe activities and employ “readily available” existing technology to ensure consumer protections adhere to regulatory frameworks.
This week Congressman Joe Barton said he anticipates meeting with Senators Harry Reid and Dean Heller to discuss federal online poker legislation “in the very near future”.
Speaking at a teleconference with Poker Players Alliance executive director John Pappas, Barton noted he held talks with the two Senators in the previous congress but has not yet had an opportunity to meet face-to-face since introducing his new bill, HR 2666, last week.
Congressman Barton also confirmed plans to name “between a dozen and two dozen” bipartisan co-sponsors within the next two weeks, saying he was keen to meet in person with potential co-sponsors before adding them to his list.