Poker players and gamblers in waiting for Pennsylvania Internet betting will have to wait a while longer… several months, in fact, for the chance to play. Last week, state officials delivered testimony to that effect during a budget hearing before the House Appropriations Committee. Kevin O’Toole, executive director of the PA Gaming Control Board, told the committee that regulated gambling sites won’t appear until sometime around July 1. Online sports betting figures to be on a similar launch timeline. The updated outlook comes some 16 months after Gov. Tom Wolf signed the PA online gambling bill into law. The first…

Thе сurrеnt gаmе оf роkеr as wе knоw іt is derived from several аnсіеnt gаmеѕ. The nаmе іtѕеlf comes frоm a Frеnсh gаmе bу a ѕіmіlаr nаmе, but wіth thе ѕаmе mеаnіng – Pоquе. Other hіѕtоrіаnѕ bеlіеvе thаt the game wаѕ nаmеd after a German speculative gаmе called “Pосhѕріеl”, both gаmеѕ wеrе ѕресulаtіvе in nature аnd were рlауеd to mаkе money оr ѕоmеthіng оf vаluе. Other historians wіll dіѕаgrее, claiming that thе gаmе hаѕ іtѕ оrіgіnѕ in thе land of Hіnduѕ – Indіа, where there is аn ancient ѕіmіlаr gаmе іnvоlvіng bluffs – the gаmе of pukka at online pokies…

A congressman from New Jersey threatens the DOJ with lawsuit over their change in opinion on the Federal Wire Act… and not just any congressman. Less than two weeks after the state Attorney General filed a Freedom of Information Act request to find out if anti-online gaming casino mogul Sheldon Adelson helped influence a reversal, the New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney took things a step further. Sweeney (D) wrote a letter to the DOJ criticizing their new interpretation, stating that if the DOJ doesn’t reverse course, New Jersey will take the matter to court. “If the OLC 2019 Wire…

Is online gambling illegal even in states where it’s regulated? I guess we’ll see… as the Department of Justice has issued a replacement for its 2011 opinion which said that the Wire Act only applies to sports betting. The new opinion now makes the Wire Act applicable to any form of gambling that crosses state lines, including online gambling and online lottery. Several states have legalized online gambling in the wake of the 2011 opinion, including New Jersey, Nevada, Delaware and Pennsylvania. Sports betting and online sports gambling have also cropped up in many states in the past year in…

Canadian poker champion Gavin Smith passed away in his sleep last night. News of the loss came today from his home in Houston. He was 50 years old. There were very few details given about the circumstances of his death. Smith, born September 4, 1968, rose to poker prominence during the online poker boom several years ago. He went by the nickname “birdguts” and finished his poker career with more than $5.5 million in live tournament earnings. His last cash came in July of 2018, when he finished 823rd in a $365 no-limit hold’em event at the WSOP. For more…

An online poker bill in New York is back for the New Year, as State Senator Joseph Addabbo is pushing new efforts forward. The new bid to legalize online poker will also block any company involved in the US iGaming market after December 31, 2006. The newly-appointed chair of the Senate Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee has filed Senate Bill 18, which aims to allow all those aged 21 and above to play poker online. S00018 looks to issue up to 11 online poker licenses, with only licensed video lottery gaming facilities and Class III (tribal) gaming licensees eligible. Each…