Campbell and Frank pledge support for Barton bill
Republican and Democrat congressmen reveal that they would back a potential online poker bill from Texas representative Barton.
Congressmen John Campbell and Barney Frank have pledged support for a potential rival online poker bill from Texas Republican Joe Barton.
Barton announced last month that he was finalising a bill drafted in consultation with lobby group the Poker Players Alliance, and that he would look to introduce this under the jurisdiction of the United States Energy and Commerce Committee, of which he is chairman emeritus.
Now Republican Campbell, who introduced his own federal bill in March with Democrat Frank (pictured) as co-sponsor, have pledged support for Barton’s bill if this “moves first”, according to comments Campbell made to the Las Vegas Sun.
Frank told the Nevada newspaper: “We have an extraordinary restriction on people’s freedom right now, so I would support the broadest bill possible … but I would take something over nothing.”
Campbell was more forthright, explaining that: “I’m co-sponsoring [Barton’s bill], I believe he’s going to co-sponsor mine. If his moves first, I’ll support him.”
Barton himself told the paper that he been given the “yellow light” from Republican House leaders to proceed with his bill. “This is not a Republican leadership initiative, but they’re aware of it. It’s a sensitive issue, but an issue where there’s a majority consensus in the House and Senate to make this change.”
The position on the legislation of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, whose American Gaming Association-backed poker only bill failed in the Lame Duck session late last year, is as yet unclear.
Reid’s home state of Nevada on Friday however continued its drive towards implementing intrastate egaming regulation, Governor Brian Sandoval signing William Horne’s AB258 into law, just two months after admitting he was in favour of a federal solution rather than state-by-state legislation.
In the intervening period, an amended version of Horne’s bill was passed at Assembly level in May, and is now only reliant on federal approval before it can take force.
This follows a number of failed intrastate bills, such as those from Miguel Diaz de la Portilla in Florida and Ray Lesniak in New Jersey, although poker-only legislation was approved in the District of Columbia in April.