No Online Poker Games for 15 Months in U.S

Earlier this month, an update has been executed to Senator Harry Reid's online gambling regulation bill which clearly announced that online poker players would have to wait for 15 months before they can access a legalized online casino website. This is such a very disappointing reality for most poker players since they are hoping that in the next following days, they will finally be protected against a rude gambling law.


Actually there were two shocking announcements that bugged the attention of many online gamblers. First is the one mentioned above – players, as well as online casino owners in U.S, will not be able to get a license to operate an online poker room for 15 consecutive months, following the passage of Reid's bill. Operating such rooms are explicitly illegal (with new penalties) from day one. This means online poker players won't have any rooms to play at for some time, unless some U.S poker rooms decided to ignore this regulation.


However, Senator Harry Reid uttered a simple explanation on these changes. He said that it's not that the players are prohibited to gamble, the real reason is just it will take up to fifteen months for lawmakers to create and put into place the regulation. According to the stipulations in Reid’s bill, online casinos seeking licenses in the U.S. have to cease accepting U.S. players within less than thirty days of the bill being passed.


The other shocking thing that the bill revealed is that only those brick and mortar casinos that have been operating for five years or longer can obtain a U.S. online gambling license. This stipulation greatly affected some online poker sites such as Full Tilt and PokerStars who do not have their brick and mortar casino counterparts. On the other hand, online casino sites must have to wait for 15 months in order for them to apply for a gaming license. This would give the federal government time to set regulations for the industry. It also would provide time for safeguards to be put in place regarding potential problem gambling or underage gambling.


Aside from Reid’s bill eventually allowing U.S. players to play poker online, it seems that they will only be able to play at sites run by established casinos in Nevada. Kind of unfair, isn't it? Let us accept the fact that players will be able to play online poker legally, but the number of sites to play at is only limited to a very small select number of casinos with online sites.


Some speculations rather say that the prohibition will only last for 14 months. Operators like PokerStars will have 30 days from the passage of the bill to show US players the door - and another 30 to get them their cash back. Meaning, players will be locked out for 14 months total.


Although these changes were made, we should still be proud because there is something that the government is doing just to legalize online casino gambling. There are maybe few consequences that we have to follow, but at least we can imagine a regulated online gambling world leading its way.

Have the best online casino gaming experience, know the best guides and strategies in gaming only at OnlineCasinos247.com