Online Poker Report – When the Department of Justice rewrote its interpretation of the 1961 Wire Act in 2011, a number of legislators rushed to their state capitols and started hammering out ways to pass online gambling bills. One state that looked into online gambling was Rhode Island, which set up an exploratory committee. Nothing ever came of that precursor to a precursor to a bill, but Rhode Island Lottery Director Gerald S. Aubin made some interesting comments about online gambling that appeared in the Providence Journal this week. Aubin’s comments are just shy of being against online gambling, but…

Sacramento Business Journal – State lawmakers have introduced competing legislation to legalize online poker. California has seen several attempts to legalize the game over the last five years, but the state’s powerful tribes opposed the legislation out of fear that online gaming would encroach on their brick-and-mortar casinos. The bills never made it out of committee. But in a development that is similar to the anti-marijuana lobby’s can’t-beat-them-then-join-them attitude, the tribes are coming around, said one Capitol staffer. It isn’t difficult to sign up for online poker today — the U.S. has seen a proliferation of illegal digital gaming from…

Online Poker Report – Six weeks ago, I took my first real look at New Jersey’s six major poker sites. Since then, that number has been effectively reduced to five, as I can’t in good faith review a site that generates less monthly revenue than a lemonade stand does in a blizzard (at least Betfair’s NJ-based online casino is faring somewhat better). The rest of the Garden State’s virtual poker offerings have spent the past month-and-a-half jockeying for position, spending significant sums of money on partnerships, advertising and other marketing schemes in the process. Some networks, like Party Poker NJ,…

Poker News – California Assemblyman Isadore Hall told Tribal leaders and gaming interests at Thursday’s iGaming Legislative Symposium in Sacramento that he believes there is still a chance for Internet poker legislation to pass in the Golden State during 2014. He also indicated that the Assembly would be holding an informational hearing on the issue in the next few weeks. Hall, who was the keynote speaker to open the event, serves as chair of the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee, which includes gambling-related concerns. Two poker-only bills were introduced in the California legislature last week at the deadline to submit new…

iGaming Business – The Florida Senate Gaming Committee has left online poker out of an expansive gaming reform bill despite calls to introduce a regulated market in the US state. According to the Onlinepokerreport.com website, the Senate Proposed Bill 7052 was released on February 24 in an attempt to reform and update the state’s gaming industry. Potential changes in the bill include the creation of a gaming control board, as well as increased authority, control and enforcement over gaming by the regulatory body. The bill also proposed authorising the governor to renegotiate the gaming compact with the Seminoles Native American…

iGaming Business – The Autonomous Administration of the State Monopolies (AAMS) Italian gaming authority has reported that the country’s regulated online poker market is continuing to decline. According to the Pokerfuse.com website, wagers in poker cash games during January 2014 grossed €12.2 billion ($16.7 billion), a drop of 20% on the previous year and a fall of 50% on January 2012. In addition, tournament revenues also declined by 26% in comparison with January 2013. Pokerstars Italy remains the most successful operator in the country as it generates 52.8% of all cash game revenue. It also holds a 54% share of…