No Chance for Federal Poker Bill in 2012

The Las Vegas Review Journal recently reported that the attempt by Congress to legalize online poker won't happen this year.  The AGA as well as those that wanted to have centralized control of iGaming in the US have been pushing for Washington to create a one size fits all approach.  That plan was thwarted for a couple of reasons, mostly due to politics.

First, this was an election year.  Not much was going to happen this year anyway.  The normal partisan environment was even more so.  Due to the even more partisan contest, any chance at a bipartisan approach to this issue was squelched.  Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader from Nevada, was very keen for this legislation.  No way were the Republicans going to do any favors for Harry Reid.  I would be surprised if this acrimony doesn't carry over into next year.

Second, with the fiscal cliff issue top of mind, that's what's going to be worked on as the primary topic, not online poker.

For now, online poker will move forward on a state by state basis.  A few more states implement on their own, and the window for any federal-level approach will be permanently lost.  That may likely happen as soon as 2013.