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Manne wrote: It appears that the state of Pennsylvania might be moving past all of these challenges as the House Gaming Oversight Committee recently approved HB 649 bill after members voted 18-8 in favor of the bill. Analysts initially expected California to become the fourth state to legalize online poker but the entire process appears to have hit a roadblock and there will be no rollout in 2015.

This is just the first step for Pennsylvania as the bill still has a long vetting process as it must first obtain a full house vote before going on to the senate for approval. If the bill moves past this stage, then it will eventually get placed on Governor Tom Wolf’s desk for review and it will be up to the governor to decide whether online poker can be legalized in Pennsylvania or if he has to veto the bill.

Manne wrote: Nevada’s underwhelming online gaming market likely won’t grow into a cash cow anytime soon.

Ultimate Poker, one of the state’s three licensed online poker websites, shut down last November, citing weak revenues and a limited pool of players. Now, one year after the website’s exit, the factors that motivated its closure show no signs of disappearing.

The state Gaming Control Board no longer reports how much revenue Nevada receives from online poker specifically, because without Ultimate Poker, there aren’t enough operators in the market to warrant such a study. When the state did report the data, online poker revenue crossed the $1 million mark only once, in June 2014. Total state gaming revenue that month was $906.9 million.

Online poker hasn’t been a boon for state coffers, because as Ultimate Poker found out, there simply aren’t enough players in Nevada to fill digital tables.

State officials tried to address the issue in March by allowing Nevada gamblers to play online poker with people in Delaware. But it is unlikely to move the needle much, given that the population of Delaware is less than half the population of Clark County.

What would improve the fortunes of online gaming here?

• More interstate agreements. Right now, the lone place where that’s possible is New Jersey, the only state besides Nevada and Delaware to legalize online gaming. Except unlike Nevada and Delaware, New Jersey also offers legal online casino games other than poker. Additional states, notably California and Pennsylvania, are considering legalizing some form of online gaming, but none have enacted any measures yet. Should one of them overcome the political and logistical hurdles standing in their way, it could be a tremendous boost for Nevada’s market — if the newest online gambling state agrees to let its players gamble with players in Nevada.

• Legalizing games besides poker. Online casino revenue brings in far more money for New Jersey than online poker. If Nevada were to take a similar approach, the state likely would see its online gaming market take off too. But the political will does not appear to be present, either from lawmakers or from the casino industry.

• Legalizing online poker at the federal level. A Congressman from Texas has introduced legislation multiple times, including this session, but it hasn’t gotten any major traction. That’s unlikely to change as long as Nevada’s top politician in Washington, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, remains receptive to a ban on online gaming that has been introduced in Congress. Still, lobbying efforts and shifting political winds could change things.

• Continuing to capitalize on in-person events. WSOP-com, owned by Caesars Entertainment Corp., is the dominant online poker provider in Nevada. The website found success by tying into the live World Series of Poker tournament in Las Vegas. The Online Poker Report, which tracks the industry, wrote in July that “if the success of an online poker tournament series is measured by its ability to shatter guarantees, then the WSOP-com Online Championship in Nevada may have been the most prosperous event in U.S. regulated history.”




Online poker dealt a tough hand in Nevada - Las Vegas Sun News

Manne wrote: Online poker became a legalized activity in three states in the United States in 2013 – Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware. During that time, other states have explored regulation but none have pulled the trigger. Over the next couple of years, several states are expected to begin or continue investigating whether they should offer iGaming to their citizens.

During their debates, they will look at the present regulated online poker market for suggestions and potential best practices for their state. Today we look at five things that other states can learn about online poker and iGaming legislation from states that have already regulated the game.
Stick With Experienced Operators

As we’ve learned the hard way in Nevada and New Jersey, it presently isn’t profitable for a company to start from the ground floor in the regulated marketplace. Ultimate Gaming attempted to do so and was out of business within a year. They just couldn’t carve out a large enough niche for themselves to survive in the market.

Real Gaming is the other ground floor operation that started in Nevada and while it is still in operation, it is doing much worse than Ultimate Gaming ever did in either state. The site presently average 3 players during peak hours and hasn’t average enough players to fill a Sit & Go in over a year. If not for the backing of South Point Casino in Las Vegas, we expect they would have shut down long ago.

Other licensees in regulated markets have chosen to partner with experienced operators such as 888 Holdings and bwin.party to provide online gambling services. This gives them a customizable backbone for their product along with brand recognition that was sorely missing with Ultimate Gaming and Real Gaming.
Abandon the Poker-Only Model

We’ve learned two important lessons in the last two years. First, gamblers want to play online casino games. Next, online poker is not growing on a state-by-state level. Over the last two years, online poker numbers have been steadily dropping and in New Jersey, iPoker is down 22.4% from 2014.

We aren’t saying that online poker isn’t viable but rather that it should be a part of a multi-faceted platform that includes online table games, slots and maybe even DFS. Daily Fantasy Sports is a booming industry and this is the time to get it regulated. States that choose to group DFS in with online poker and general iGaming will have the potential to reap huge rewards.
Set Realistic Expectations for Revenue in the First Five Years

Some analysts and NJ Governor Chris Christie set grossly inflated estimates for the first year of online poker in the state. Nevada also went a bit overboard, but nowhere near the insane numbers that were coming out for the Garden State.

Lawmakers need to look at first year numbers for Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware and adjust them for their market size to get a better idea of what to expect. Again, we recommend that they examine all angles and not just online poker.
Geolocation Works

What’s proven to be the most impressive feature of the regulated marketplace is the success of Geolocation and remote verification technologies. To date, there’s not been a single instance of underage gambling in any regulated state in the United States.

In addition, states have been able to successfully ring fence players in their state in a way that seemed science fiction just a few years ago. Any technology that can pinpoint players down to what side of a coffee shop they are sitting is pretty impressive.
Regulation is a Slow Process

When a state starts talking about regulating online poker or online gambling, we see a lot of wild claims about citizens being able to gamble online “later this year” or “by this time next year.”

The reality has been that online gambling regulation has taken at least two years to become a reality in most states. From the time an online poker or online gambling bill was introduced in any regulated state, it took at least 18 months before a bill was ultimately approved and games went live.

Keep in mind that after a bill is passed, online poker regulations have to be drafted and then licenses applied for an approved. Afterward, the various sites must be fully tested and approved for live play. This is not a quick process and any state wishing to explore iGaming should realize games will not go up immediately up legalizing the activity.


5 Lessons We Can Learn About Online Poker Legislation from Regulated States

Manne wrote: A bill filed by Massachusetts state Sen. Bruce Tarr would allow gambling facilities in the Bay State to one day offer their casino games on the Internet, according to a report Thursday from The Sun Chronicle.

The state Gaming Commission would determine which games would be offered, but it’s safe to assume poker would be among them. All three U.S. states that currently have online gambling have online poker. Nevada only has online poker.

Back in 2011, the state passed a bill for brick-and-mortar gambling facilities. Just the slots-only casino has opened, while MGM Resorts International and Wynn Resorts continue to take steps to make sure their respective projects become a reality. Both will likely be built, but they are years away. A tribal casino and another commercial Las Vegas-style casino are also in the pipeline, but are further behind in the process than MGM and Wynn.

Only those casinos could offer Internet gambling.

In addition to Massachusetts, Pennsylvania is considering online casino games. A bill in the Keystone State currently sits in the House for consideration.


Massachusetts Bill Would Legalize Online Poker

Manne wrote: To look back on the progress of online poker in the United States in 2015 – or lack thereof – may inspire little confidence that the next year will be much different. Though the state of Pennsylvania seems destined to legalize online poker, some have doubts about even that.

However, I believe the threat of the Restoration of America’s Wire Act will push more states to act rather quickly in 2016. Interested parties separated by goal differences will find ways to compromise, and the online poker scene will grow by more than one state in the next 12 months.

So, my optimistic predictions for 2016 online poker in the United States are as follows.

Pennsylvania Will Legalize Online Gambling

Massachusetts or New York Will Legalize Online Poker

PokerStars Will Be Approved in Pennsylvania

New Jersey and Pennsylvania Will Sign a Liquidity Agreement

California Will Legalize Online Poker



Read more: 5 U.S. Online Poker Predictions for 2016

kennex wrote: Most of the nation will be focused on the race for the White House and other state and congressional races. Perhaps a state or two will surprise us, but it’s much more likely that a new push towards regulation begins starting in 2017.

Manne wrote: I would like to say that this year was fantastic. We had having too much winner that i can't count them
OK OK we had some big losers to. (But if you don't try you will never win something).


We wish that everybody could win but that is just impossible😡


Try again maybe this time you are lucky: Latest reviews for known gambling brands: Online gambling reviews - Latest reviews for known gambling brands.


Good Luck: Team ixgames-com (Luck will come to you soon or later)😡😡