Legalized Online Poker for USA This Year?
Poker is one of the favorite games of Americans. Yet, they are the unprivileged ones when it comes to real cash online poker. The UIGEA Act led to the shutdown of some of the best real money poker online USA sites last year. Surely, the online poker market in the US is grim right now, and poker players want a change. So does Jim Murren, the CEO of MGM Resorts International. In fact, Murren had recently stated that he is confident that a favorable online poker legislation will be passed this year. Considering that the reports suggest otherwise, poker fans can only be hopeful and wait.
Complicating the issue
After three major sites – PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker – were closed down in the US in April 2011, lawmakers have not been very successful in bringing a positive change for poker fans in the country. Despite the slow progress, Jim Murren believes that the Internet Gaming legislation should be passed before beginning of the next year. Murren is so optimistic that he also stated that MGM, which is the second biggest gaming company in the world, will certainly be one of the first to benefit from the legislation. He believes that the while issue is simply being complicated by Washington, and is getting pushed further away.
Boyd CEO skeptical
MGM may be positive, but Boyd Gaming’s CEO Keith Smart is doubtful that the legislation will be approved this year. He says that the federal legislation for internet gaming is not as close as we hope it would be. According to Smart, the ideal legislation would be one that helps in creating and maintaining a regulated environment for internet gaming in the nation. He also said that the federal legislation could be profitable, but Boyd Gaming may be entering the gaming market at the state level, instead of the national level.
Smart also hinted that Boyd Gaming’s joint venture with MGM and bwin.party could begin at the state level first, and move on to national level gradually. Once the legislation is in, Boyd Gaming could be getting an interacting gaming license in Nevada State, for which it has recently applied.