Florida could regulate online poker
Legistlators could consider regulating online poker during the coming legislative session, with options ranging from banning the activity altogether to permitting and drawing revenue from the games.
The Legislature could also wait to see if Congress intends to address online poker games, which is considered ullawfull in the USA but is often operated by foreign companies.
“Because they’re in other countries, the legistlation enforcement doesn’t reach there,” stated Alex Regalado, an analyst for the Legislature’s research arm, the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability.
According to the research office, Legistlators may wait to see what action the federal government takes, ban online poker or allow online poker and regulate it.
Nevada officials have already endorsed a legistlation permitting the practice, Regalado stated, but postponed enforcing it after the USA Justice Department stated the games were ullawfull.
But a ban on online poker would also face challenges, according to a report Regalado presented to the Senate Regulated Industries Committee.
“A legistlation to prohibit Internet gambling could be difficult to enforce as anyone with the appropriate equipment and Internet connections can play online poker in the privacy of his or her own home,” the report says.
Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, raised similar questions about banning online poker.
“When the feds tried to do it, it didn’t really work,” he stated. “Is there anything that Florida can do other than permitting it to occur?”
Some gambling interests are already promoting the case that Florida should go ahead and allow the games.
Nick Iarossi, a lobbyist for London-based Betfair, informed Legistlators that permitting legitimate gambling websites to offer online poker could help shut down the unregulated websites some state residents now frequent.
“You have a lot of Florida residents right now … that are going on Web websites that are unregulated,” Iarossi stated. “Some of them are being run by unscrupulous people.”
Iarossi stated Betfair doesn’t currently take wagers from USA players.
In addition, Iarossi stated, the games could prove profitable both for companies like Betfair and the state.
But Regalado’s agency stated there are no reliable estimates of how much income the state could generate by permitting the games. And the office stated permitting online poker could affect any deal with the Seminole Tribe, which has been working to negotiate a gambling compact with the state that would include exclusive rights to offer some card games in most parts of the state.
“At this time, the possibility for passage of federal legislation is questionable,” the state report says. “Many groups, including land-based casinos, social conservative groups, and professional sports leagues including the National Football League, oppose the legislation.”
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