For the past few months, Poker Players Alliance Executive Director John Pappas has been running up the frequent flyer mileage over online gaming. With federal internet poker legalization prospects seemingly at a standstill, Pappas focused efforts of the 1.2 million-member lobbying organization on various individual state legislative activities. Debate over Internet gaming and online poker surfaced this year in California, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. Pappas is spending part of the weekend at the World Series of Poker in the organization’s booth inside the Rio’s Convention Center. He plans to discuss the various online gaming legalization efforts with the tournament’s attendees. “We…

From Technorati Caesars Interactive Entertainment, a subsidiary of the world’s largest gaming company, has acquired the rights and ownership of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) mobile application, according to a press release issued by the company this week. According to Caesars, buying the WSOP mobile app enables it to “expand its presence in free-to-play social and mobile gaming.” The poker app is being developed by a group of 19 Canada-based game developers.  The company’s Playtika division will operate the mobile venture as a free-to-play social game. The WSOP application is available on the Facebook platform, Amazon Kindle, Android, and…

It seems all but certain that online poker will not be legislated at a federal level before states begin negotiating online poker compacts.  There are a number of potential issues that need to be addressed before states can agree to share player pools. Rake Allocation Formulas The most important issue facing potential Interstate poker compacts is how to allocate rake.  There are five formulas that have been used in online poker to determine how rake is distributed to players.  This distribution is important in terms of taxes and player promotions. Dealt – The dealt rake method was once used by…

From CNBC Like brick-and-mortar retailers, casinos in Las Vegas—and pretty soon in Atlantic City—are finding themselves up against a familiar foe: the Internet. It may seem counterintuitive that Nevada and New Jersey—homes to the two biggest gambling cities in the country—are leading the charge at the state level to legalize online betting. But states, like many Americans, are looking for new revenue streams as the economy continues to sputter to life. And some casinos are being proactive, looking for ways to develop or partner their way to a Web-based gaming presence. In February, Nevada become the first state to approve…

From the Hill Lobbyists who advocate legalizing online poker are on the prowl for a new Republican to champion their cause in the Senate. Former Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) had been a reliable supporter of online poker, but he retired last year after making a last-ditch effort to pass legislation with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). Gambling interests are eager to revisit Internet poker legalization — a top priority for Reid’s casino-dominated home state — but lobbyists for the gaming industry doubt the effort will succeed until a Republican ally is found from outside Nevada who can broaden the…

In an interview with the Las Vegas Sun, Senator Harry Reid stopped short of officially declaring the effort to revive an online gambling bill dead, but said he couldn’t see any type of legislative effort succeeding. If the gaming market hadn’t already largely determined it, the Senate Majority Leader confirmed it Friday: The era of online poker in Congress is essentially over. “I felt for several months now that I don’t see any movement on this,” Reid said. “I don’t see anything happening.” Reid said that a bill filed in the House of Representatives yesterday by Rep. Peter King, D-N.Y.,…