Not sure yet where to begin … and while the concept of playing competitive video-game tournaments online for real money isn’t exactly new (FIFA interactive World Cup, eg) … it’s apparently about to get a whole lot easier.
The site is called BringIt.com, and will be legal in 39 US states. (Like holy fugk, you can even transfer funds via PayPal!)
http://www.gamepolitics.com/2009/08/03/site-allows-players-wager-video-games-legal-39-states
BringIt plans to make money on a rake — pretty much just like poker — as well as some fund withdrawal processing fees. The Associated Press on the legality of it all here.
Depending on how all this shakes down, game of luck vs. skill definitives will be even more relevant than before … and at a minimum may open a new window for online poker to distinguish itself from online gambling. The online (non-poker) gaming sites that will inevitably spring up should BringIt actually bring it, meanwhile, will have to deal with all the same regulatory stuff that we want to deal with to protect fairness, ensure integrity, disable cheat codes, etc.
Still too early to tell. And BringIt is only supposed to go live in low-stakes Beta this week. But it should be a very interesting site to watch …
(Thanks @MSomm for the tip.)
The Delaware legislature passed a bill allowing sports gambling to return to the state on Tuesday. Governor, Jack Markell will be signing the legislation later this week. Delaware is one of 4 states (Oregon, Nevada and Montana being the others) that were exempt from a 1992 federal law that banned gambling on sports.
The NFL, unsurprisingly, filed a brief with the Delaware Supreme Court against the bill. Their reasoning for blocking the bill is surprising; because they state that sports betting is a game of skill, while Delaware state law states that only games of chance are allowed. Could they be unknowingly opening the door to allow all sorts of gambling on games of skill, such as poker?
The US Senate is hard at work … as we speak/type/read, they’re fixin’ to vote on their version of the Bush-Obama-McCain-endorsed $700 billion Wall Street bailout bill (currently at 450 pages) … hope that works out the way it should.
Meanwhile, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) has introduced S. 3616, the Internet Skill Game Licensing and Control Act. Hmm, interesting timing … and more good work from the PPA (and good poker citizens) to make this happen. Poker big-wigs were told of a Senate bill in the making during Alfonse D’Amato’s visit to the WSOP this summer … so this wasn’t any hastily concocted measure.
Major provisions of this bill:
- Thorough vetting of potential licensees;
- Mandatory implementation of technologies to protect against underage gambling and to monitor and detect individuals with excessive gaming habits;
- High standards to thwart fraud and abuse of customers;
- Regulation to prevent money laundering; and,
- Processes to prevent tax avoidance.
Kinda fascinating to see the (potential) future of online poker (potentially) taking shape, no? It’s taken nine bills to get to this point. Combine this one with the recent bipartisan pushing of HR 6870 from the House Financial Services Committee to the House floor — requiring clarification of the vague definition of “unlawful Internet gambling” contained in the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act after industry officials and regulators, including the Federal Reserve and Department of Treasury, testified to the UIGEA’s unworkable nature and the burden it places on the already troubled banking industry — and, well, you do the math.
The nation may or may not be on the verge of economic crumble, but as far as poker’s concerned, I think we’re looking at positive EV.
More from the PPA and the actual text of the S. 3616 here.
