Post by Admin on Jan 29, 2014 10:32:01 GMT -8
Regulation is the solution - Prohibition is the problem
Adults in Washington State can drive to the local card room or Tribal casino and play poker for hundreds, even thousands, of dollars. But if you play the same game, even for pennies, over the internet from the privacy of your own home, our state considers you a felon. Let me say that again. Our state considers you a felon for playing penny ante poker online. Imagine that, if you drive drunk, even wiht prior convictions, and even after the State got 'tougher' on DUI in 2013, you’re committing a lesser crime than if you play online poker for pennies in your pajamas from your bedroom.
So how many gambling sites and service providers have been prosecuted under this law in the past eight years? The answer is zero. The fact is, providers still serve Washington State players, and those players still play.
What this prohibition is preventing is the strict regulatory oversight the Gambling Commission applies to those licensed card rooms offering the very same games in their establishment. As is outlined in this article, the very risks associated with online gambling in general, and online poker specifically, exist because prohibition prevents the Commission from regulating these activities.
This all begs the question, if the law isn’t enforced, and it isn’t doing the job it was intended to do, why can we not change it? If the problem with internet poker is the fact that it is unregulated, then responsible government should regulate it. We can regulate internet poker in Washington State, and we should.
We can see by the example set in New Jersey that internet gaming can be successfully regulated. We can also see that players prefer regulated sites to offshore sites operating illegally. Regulation has driven rogue sites out of the market, proving that regulation is a sound, market based solution to a problem prohibition has failed to address.
There is also plenty of evidence that the casino industry is not being harmed by internet gaming, as some would have you believe. Regulated Internet poker in Washington State will not only provide a new revenue stream for the state’s card rooms and tribal casinos, but it can also serve as a marketing tool for their on-premises games. It’s a win-win for them, not the deathknell they feared it would be in 2006.
Create a Regulated and Inclusive Market Allowing Washington State Card Rooms to Offer Games Online
Under our two-tiered approach to creating a system of internet poker in Washington State, the popular poker platforms that the players' know, including 888poker, PartyPoker, and even Pokerstars, will be able to apply for a license to operate as a network, providing business to business services to authorized Tribes and licensed card rooms. The will need to establish as a Washington State business, and locate servers and support systems within the state. They will not be able to own or operate their own card rooms. They will need to compete with each other for customers among the state's licensed card rooms and Tribal casinos currently operating Class II poker rooms. The Commission will establish a significant fee to operate an internet poker network
For their part, the state's card rooms and Tribal casinos will be able to operate 'skins,' sharing player liquidity with others on the same network(s). This allows for the many to participate, without splintering player liquidity beyond viability. Non-tribal card rooms will be required to apply for an additional license to extend their offerings online, and will need to meet minimum thresholds to qualify. Tribal casinos currently offering poker on-site as Class II gaming will be able to operate skins on approved networks, and self regulate as they do their B&M offerings.
There is no tax provision in our proposal. Given that there is no state gambling tax, it isn't appropriate to establish a tax solely on internet poker. Also, any tax that would apply only to non-tribal card rooms would be patently unfair. Rather than try to tax the card rooms, a significant fee on the network operators should be sufficient to bring revenue to the Commission to cover its oversight obligations.
Be sure and see this article, which elaborates on how the network model will benefit not just Washington State, but will facilitate the spread of regulated poker markets in the United States.
Introduced as HB 1114 in the 2015 Legislative session
Adults in Washington State can drive to the local card room or Tribal casino and play poker for hundreds, even thousands, of dollars. But if you play the same game, even for pennies, over the internet from the privacy of your own home, our state considers you a felon. Let me say that again. Our state considers you a felon for playing penny ante poker online. Imagine that, if you drive drunk, even wiht prior convictions, and even after the State got 'tougher' on DUI in 2013, you’re committing a lesser crime than if you play online poker for pennies in your pajamas from your bedroom.
So how many gambling sites and service providers have been prosecuted under this law in the past eight years? The answer is zero. The fact is, providers still serve Washington State players, and those players still play.
What this prohibition is preventing is the strict regulatory oversight the Gambling Commission applies to those licensed card rooms offering the very same games in their establishment. As is outlined in this article, the very risks associated with online gambling in general, and online poker specifically, exist because prohibition prevents the Commission from regulating these activities.
This all begs the question, if the law isn’t enforced, and it isn’t doing the job it was intended to do, why can we not change it? If the problem with internet poker is the fact that it is unregulated, then responsible government should regulate it. We can regulate internet poker in Washington State, and we should.
We can see by the example set in New Jersey that internet gaming can be successfully regulated. We can also see that players prefer regulated sites to offshore sites operating illegally. Regulation has driven rogue sites out of the market, proving that regulation is a sound, market based solution to a problem prohibition has failed to address.
There is also plenty of evidence that the casino industry is not being harmed by internet gaming, as some would have you believe. Regulated Internet poker in Washington State will not only provide a new revenue stream for the state’s card rooms and tribal casinos, but it can also serve as a marketing tool for their on-premises games. It’s a win-win for them, not the deathknell they feared it would be in 2006.
Create a Regulated and Inclusive Market Allowing Washington State Card Rooms to Offer Games Online
Under our two-tiered approach to creating a system of internet poker in Washington State, the popular poker platforms that the players' know, including 888poker, PartyPoker, and even Pokerstars, will be able to apply for a license to operate as a network, providing business to business services to authorized Tribes and licensed card rooms. The will need to establish as a Washington State business, and locate servers and support systems within the state. They will not be able to own or operate their own card rooms. They will need to compete with each other for customers among the state's licensed card rooms and Tribal casinos currently operating Class II poker rooms. The Commission will establish a significant fee to operate an internet poker network
For their part, the state's card rooms and Tribal casinos will be able to operate 'skins,' sharing player liquidity with others on the same network(s). This allows for the many to participate, without splintering player liquidity beyond viability. Non-tribal card rooms will be required to apply for an additional license to extend their offerings online, and will need to meet minimum thresholds to qualify. Tribal casinos currently offering poker on-site as Class II gaming will be able to operate skins on approved networks, and self regulate as they do their B&M offerings.
There is no tax provision in our proposal. Given that there is no state gambling tax, it isn't appropriate to establish a tax solely on internet poker. Also, any tax that would apply only to non-tribal card rooms would be patently unfair. Rather than try to tax the card rooms, a significant fee on the network operators should be sufficient to bring revenue to the Commission to cover its oversight obligations.
Be sure and see this article, which elaborates on how the network model will benefit not just Washington State, but will facilitate the spread of regulated poker markets in the United States.
Introduced as HB 1114 in the 2015 Legislative session