Donny Chia with Harvard Blogs reported, “Just few days back we discussed about the issue of State Indian Tribes in California demanding legalization of online poker in our blog post, “State Indian Tribes Wish Online Poker Legalized in California!” and to our surprise buzz is going around that California Senate is holding a session to discuss Online Poker issues. Now this is what I call true motivation and courage down under. All these days perhaps for the fear or law and punishment many poker lovers had to suppress their love for poker, but little courage from small groups proved fruitful.

During the table session, different ideas were there on the table in California and surprisingly poker was the hot topic of conversation yesterday in California Senate. It seems there would be some kind of compromise to the issues demanded by State Indian Tribes as well as those who love to poker online from the convenience of their homes. According to reports the Tuesday’s meeting in the California Senate was historic because there were discussions about online poker which is considered illegal in the US and strict laws govern such online gambling. Nearly 35 presenters in the Senate testified on the advantages and disadvantages of having an online poker system in California.

Regarding the issue, discussions in the California Senate presented differing viewpoints and interests. The attendance in the Senate included Native American Leaders, international online poker providers, university professors, anti-gambling advocates/moral police, gaming analysts, brick and mortar casino representatives, government officials and also the members of the famous Poker Players Alliance members. All were present there in the discussion that took place.

During an interview Steve Miller, Director of PPA California explained the enthusiasts card players what exactly happened in the senate discussion and the big meeting. He called it an informal meeting and further said, “It was sort of an introductory session, a fact-finding session. It was meant to inform the legislators about what the issues are.” (Poker Info Today, 2010) Even though the meeting has been described as informal, this is an indication how serious the issue of such online gambling has become over the time with more and more Americans joining online casinos to play the game.

It is good to see the legislators are considering the issue to regulate the online poker industry and look after the proposals made from different sections of society. Although no specific bill was talked about, but the legislature spent the whole day on the issue discussing the merits and demerits of online poker legalization. The online poker session in the senate started at 9.30 am to 5.30 am that provided dozens of people opportunities to testify the issue and also answer questions that were raised in the senate by the anti-gambling advocates.

Tuesday’s discussion was a stark contrast to what happened last December in the senate when Rep. Barney Frank tried to help his federal poker hearing before a small committee where only few experts testified. The meeting in the senate this Tuesday indicates that it is now time to take the online poker seriously and move ahead.”

Online poker is still a hot issue. This is what wiki has to say about the legal history of it all, “From a legal perspective, online poker may differ in some ways from online casino gambling. However, many of the same issues do apply. For a discussion of the legality of online gambling in general, see online gambling.
Online poker is legal and regulated in many countries including several nations in and around the Caribbean Sea, and most notably the United Kingdom.

In the United States, the North Dakota House of Representatives passed a bill in February 2005 to legalize and regulate online poker and online poker cardroom operators in the state. The legislation required that online poker operations would have to physically locate their entire operations in the state. Testifying before the state Senate Judiciary committee, Nigel Payne, CEO of Sportingbet and owner of Paradise Poker, pledged to relocate to the state if the bill became law.

The measure, however, was defeated by the State Senate in March 2005 after the U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to North Dakota attorney general Wayne Stenehjem stating that online gaming “may” be illegal, and that the pending legislation “might” violate the federal Wire Act. However, many legal experts dispute the DOJ’s claim.

In response to this and other claims by the DOJ regarding the legality of online poker, many of the major online poker sites stopped advertising their “dot-com” sites in American media. Instead, they created “dot-net” sites that are virtually identical but offer no real money wagering. The sites advertise as poker schools or ways to learn the game for free, and feature words to the effect of “this is not a gambling website.”
On October 13, 2006, President Bush officially signed into law the Safe Port Act, a bill aimed at enhancing security at U.S. ports. Attached to the Safe Port Act was a provision known as the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).

According to the UIGEA, “unlawful internet gambling” means to place, receive, or otherwise knowingly transmit a bet or wager by means of the internet where such bet is unlawful under any law in the State in which the bet is initiated, received, or otherwise made. Thus, the UIGEA prohibits online gambling sites from performing transactions with American financial institutions. As a result of the bill, several large publicly traded poker gaming sites such as PartyPoker.com, PacificPoker.com and bwin closed down their US facing operations. Some operations have not closed and it is still possible for some American players to play online for real money and even sign up for new accounts. The UIGEA has had a devastating effect on the stock value of these companies.

Since its passage, several members of the United States Congress have introduced bills to overturn or revise the UIGEA.

Following passage of UIGEA, former U.S. Senator Al D’Amato joined the Poker Players Alliance (PPA). Part of the PPA’s mission is to protect and to advocate for the right of poker players to play online. Sen. D’Amato’s responsibilities include Congressional lobbying. In April 2008 the PPA claimed over 1,000,000 members.[10][11] The organization claimed just over 800,000 members in October 2007.

Other grassroots organizations, including the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative, have formed in opposition to UIGEA, to promote the freedom of individuals to gamble online with the proper safeguards to protect consumers and ensure the integrity of financial transactions.

On November 27, 2009, Department of the Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke announced a six month delay, until June 1, 2010, for required compliance with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA). The move blocks regulations to implement the legislation which requires the financial services sector to comply with ambiguous and burdensome rules in an attempt to prevent unlawful Internet gambling transactions.”