The fight for online poker regulation in the US has been raging for quite a while now; so long, in fact, that people have begun to question whether anything really will come from it or if we’re just waiting for naught. Harry Reid’s bill was a disappointment in that it had a lot of holes and that it ended up getting blocked anyway – a good thing, in hindsight, but still rather disheartening. Now, however, a ray of hope is yet again beginning to shine upon us. Congressman John Campbell and Barney Frank have teamed up together to lobby for the licensing and regulation of internet gambling in the states.

Furthermore, the Poker Players Alliance, or the PPA, has just sent its members an email explaining that they are hoping to make changes to Reid’s draft in order to improve the bill and make it more favorable for everyone.

Revisions, revisions, revisions…

It’s always been said that if you want something to be perfect, then you have to be ready to go over it again and again and make as much revisions as necessary. We’ve been waiting so long for internet gambling regulation to go forward, after all, so we might as well ensure that it’s absolutely perfect. The PPA has sent its members an email saying that they seek to make various revisions to the bill’s draft. First and foremost, they’re seeking to remove, or at least reduce, the ‘blackout period’, in which players will be forced to undergo a 15-month fasting from regular online poker. The PPA did not discount the feature’s uses, even said that it was a ‘necessary evil’.

Another thing they seek to change is the exclusivity of the new US market. They’re now going to allow worldwide customers to join. They’re also seeking to increase the number of states that will automatically be included in the bill’s scope, and most importantly, they’re going to make sure that the bill won’t be unfair to those companies that are currently serving the US market, such as Full Tilt and PokerStars.

Congressman John Campbell

The poker community is pretty happy that Congressman John Campbell has decided to take its side in the issue of gambling law. The congressman, as John Pappas said, is a “sensible conservative who understands the benefits of a regulated market rather than the policy of failed prohibition”. They really couldn’t have summed it up better in those few words. Hopefully, Campbell will be able to sway the congress and finally give poker players their due.