The U.S. Department of Justice’s flip-flop on the Wire Act is pushing more and more state lawmakers toward online poker legislation.
On Tuesday, Iowa Sen. Jeff Danielson told the Des Moines Register he plans to draft an Internet poker bill in Iowa sometime in the near future. Danielson added that the DOJ’s decision could not only fuel intrastate online gambling, but also allow states like Iowa to join jurisdictions that have already approved the activity, such as Nevada and the District of Columbia.
“We believe that because of the Department of Justice ruling, we can now have a multi-state compact,” Danielson said.
Similar to the concept of multistate lotteries like Powerball and Mega Millions, multistate online poker could generate a lot of revenue for all states involved. Earlier this month, PokerNews talked to U.S. Digital Gaming’s Richard Bronson about how small states that don’t have liquidity would be able to link together to operate in the multistate platform.
In December, the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC) issued a study that outlined several ways Iowa could set up and regulate online poker within state lines. The objective of the report was to provide the legislature with information to use if it ultimately decided to set up an online poker infrastructure. The IRGC estimated that online poker could generate approximately $3 million to $13 million in tax revenue for the state annually.
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*Photo courtesy of senate.iowa.gov.
