To a second poker boom in the U.S.?

July 28 may be part of the history of online poker. For the first time in history, a draft license and settlement has received a positive response at the federal level in the United States.

The committee of the House Financial Services adopted Regulation by a vote of 41 against 22, with one abstention.

The positive vote this regulation does not mean that online poker is legalized imminent, but rather demonstrates a turnaround proving that the battle is far from over! There are 4 years, Congress had voted against 6 1 against gambling on the Internet supporting the UIGEA. Today, the committee voted 2 against 1 in favor of online gambling.

"The online game is not about to disappear. Congress has a choice: it may authorize and regulate through government oversight and consumer protection, or our lawmakers can bury their heads in the sand, ignore it and let consumers play on sites unregulated in 50 states, "said former Senator Alfonse DiAmato, president of the PPA (Poker Players Alliance). "I am pleased that the Financial Services Committee chose to act to protect Americans while preserving the fundamental freedoms of adults facing the Internet."

The bill received overwhelming support from Republicans and some Democrats. Democrats voted against 4 to 34 in favor of the legislation; Republicans have voted 18 to 7 against against the law. Only the congressman from Texas (a Republican) abstained from voting.

A total of 14 amendments were made to the legislation, most of which were borne by the PPP.

For poker players, the most controversial amendments were two amendments to ban websites deemed to have intentionally violated U.S. federal or state law to receive a license. This calls into question the likelihood of existing sites such as PokerStars, FullTilt Poker, Bodog, the Cereus Network, the Cake network, the Merge Network and Everleaf network, to get the American license. For now, federal law is a gray area for online poker; one state (the Washington) has a law explicitly prohibiting online poker. This law is also being challenged in court.

The Executive Director of the PPA, John Pappas, said that the PPP would support the legislation as the current operators have the opportunity to apply for a license and they can make their case before the regulation. He also believes that PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker will continue to support legislation and the efforts of the PPA. "It's not our job to ensure a license," said Pappas. "But it is our duty to ensure a free market where anyone can apply! "

Other amendments added to the bill include:

1 - The prohibition of the use of credit cards for deposits.

2 - The ban on sports paris, except for horse racing.

3 - Power to the Secretary of Treasury to prohibit the advertising to minors or problem gamblers.

4 - Increase from 90 days to a full term time allocated to States to withdraw from the project.

5 - That institutions authorized sites are located in the United States

6 - To require that managers of firms authorized comply with the requirements of the license.

7 - Ask the Treasury to identify legal and illegal sites and submit financial institutions to assist in the implementation of the UIGEA.

8 - To mandate the implementation of technology to ensure that players are aged 21 years and older.

9 - To require the establishment of technical means that players can set their own loss limits.

10 - Requiring that random number generators are used.

11 - To order the government to set up a study on gambling players who have impaired.

12 - Require that sites refuse their services to people who are late on paying child support.

13 - Clarify that the activities intrastate online are not affected by the legislation

14 - Ensure that, for a license, the company had a majority of employees in the United States.

15 - Requiring that the Treasury monitors and frequently evaluates technologies and software to prevent minors from playing online revoking the license of any sites that have not been sufficient effort to prevent minors there.

16 - Mandating a database game statistics does not identify individual players are available to the Treasury.

The next step in the game legal and regulated in the United States line passes through the American Budget Commission. As the session ends this week and the House takes break in August, the bill will be sent to committee sister only in September.

"The dynamics of today's vote and the growing bipartisan support for regulation of gambling online demonstrates to congressional leaders of the House and Senate that this issue is a priority and must be addressed," said said Michael Waxman, spokesperson for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative. "Leave in place a ban that is clearly doomed to failure will not be the government's approach, leaving behind millions of vulnerable Americans who continue to find ways to gamble online in a black market."

* Information taken from PokerNews