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While individual states in the US consider legislation for online poker gaming, an Indian tribe of Oklahoma now has the right to offer online poker gaming for international customers. The Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma won the right to offer iPoker for international gamers via PokerTribe-com, after a ruling made by the United States District Court in Oklahoma City.

The site should be up and operational early this year with online poker gaming and casino gaming to be added in the near future. It was ruled that the Iowa Tribe could operate the online poker site as any operation of iPoker from tribal lands would not be in violation of state or federal laws. The Oklahoma Tribal-State Compact actually cover online gaming and poker, showing how the tribes have freedom to do so.

Universal Entertainment Group will be providing the Iowa Tribe with the software needed for the gaming site, with the tribe having already consulted with the group some time ago. The Manager of the Universal Entertainment Group, Isaias Almira, stated that the site could be launched in just weeks as the group has been working on the project for several years.

According to Almira, there has been no distinction as to how many customers and where the customers will be located that use PokerTribe-com. However, the three states that offer online poker regulations, New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada will be able to take part in the tribe’s online poker offering.

However, these states do have regulation in place that makes unlicensed operators operating in the state illegal. The tribe will be able to offer their services internationally, but with already established brands available online, it may be hard for the tribe’s offering to take off. Only time will tell how well the site will do as it is established and begins operation.



Oklahoma Indian Tribe to offer Online Poker to International Customers

Antigua and Barbuda is close to resolving a long-term online poker dispute with the US, with the two countries having reportedly agreed to an arrangement over revenue.

According to CardPlayer.com, the US early last decade banned the island nation’s online gambling industry from conducting business with Americans, despite Antigua and Barbuda claiming that its regulated online gambling sites contributed $3 billion (€2.7 billion) to the US economy.

The case was brought before the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which ruled in favour of Antigua and Barbuda and said the US unfairly discriminated against the country’s licensed websites.

In 2007, the WTO said that Antigua and Barbuda should be given $21 million per year from the US, but this arrangement was never formally put in place, while a WTO ruling in 2013 that apparently granted permission for Antigua and Barbuda to take digital content from apparently any US firm was also not implemented.

However, the Antigua Observer newspaper has reported that the island nation is close to resolving the dispute, although the specifics of the agreement have not yet been disclosed.

Antigua and Barbuda Foreign Affairs Minister Charles ‘Max’ Fernandez said that the country’s government has reviewed a new proposal from the US.

That must hurt a lot.

Why can't there making money together!

Because U.S. are stupid and missing a lot of money

The members of the Portuguese players association ANAon intend to boycott nationally regulated online poker in Portugal unless the regulator permits international player liquidity.

In a statement agreed at a meeting on January 5, the players argue that opening the online poker market without permitting international liquidity will not provide a “satisfactory option.”

The regulator SRIJ has not yet issued any licenses under new gambling laws as the result of delays caused by the need to get EU Commission approval of technical regulations.

In the meanwhile, all the major operators have pulled out of the market. For the last six months, the only option for Portuguese players who are determined to play online poker has been to play on sites that defy Portuguese law.


Portuguese Player Association Prepares to Boycott Regulated Online Poker Rooms | Pokerfuse Online Poker News

Going forward, the protesting community has loosely planned to stage another strike from February 2 – 11, and WeArePokerPlayers.com has stated its intention to launch a month-long boycott against the site once it reaches 5,000 signups.

At the time of this writing, it has 767 active protesters.

Its stated goal: to reduce Amaya’s rake by 20 percent, a lofty endgame considering PokerStars will likely be taking in increased rake from its new signups, but also a conceivable one should enough of the high volume community (i.e. those with the highest player value) participate.

Still, even in the most optimistic scenario, it’s difficult to see Amaya backtracking on some of the more controversial changes, namely rewards at the high stakes and a reversal of the SuperNova Elite cutbacks for 2016.

But a concerted and sustained effort could serve as a much needed conversation starter.

Or it could backfire.

Sounds like their playing with fire, nevertheless drama is on way.

Bodog no longer accepts poker players and does not offer poker. If you're looking to play poker see our top rated: Betonline Poker


Bodog has stopped accepting new poker players. You can still join for the casino and sports book, however.”


Team ixgames

Well that's a little sad!

Pennsylvania will likely legalize online poker by summer, according to State Representative John Payne (R-Dauphin County).

Payne introduced bill HB 649 last year that aims to authorize and regulate online casino gaming and poker in his state, as well as proposing some provisions for land-based gambling expansion, such as the extension of casino liquor licenses and the adoption of skill-based slot machines.

The representative said this week that his bill is due for legislative action in spring and that “at least some” of the measures proposed by HB 649 will probably be approved by July.

“Look, we need revenue,” he said. “They’re not going to find votes for (higher) taxes in an election year. So I would think gaming will be a component.” :thumbsup

Well that's a little sad!


Bodog poker didn't had so maney poker player they are doing the write think!

Of course, when any state fights to legalize online gambling, they likely win. (America the Great Satan)

It's a game i like. Well it's just a game 😁

It's about time think happens!!

A gambling industry body has called on the European Commission to take action to help prompt reforms to German laws on online gambling after the EU's highest court issued a critical ruling on the existing framework that applies in the country.



The Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) ruled that prosecutors in an EU country cannot penalise someone who acts as an unauthorised intermediary of sporting bets in that country where the company providing such offers is a licensed betting operator elsewhere in the EU even if the company is not a licensed betting provider in the target market if the gambling regime in that target market has been ruled as breaching EU law.

Public prosecutors in Bavaria in Germany have accused Sebat Ince of acting illegally by facilitating sporting bets between people in Germany and a gambling operator licensed in Austria but not Germany.

Germany places tight restrictions on online betting via an interstate treaty on gaming. Those restrictions, the CJEU confirmed in earlier rulings, represented a "public monopoly on the organisation and intermediation of sporting bets" in the country and have made it difficult for businesses to break into the online betting market.

German courts have taken issue with the public monopoly and the restrictions it has placed on businesses entering the German online betting market. They have ruled that it runs contrary to EU law. Some changes to the German framework have since been made, but the CJEU has now said the changes amounted only to a "fictitious authorisation procedure" and "cannot be regarded as having remedied the incompatibility with EU law … of provisions of national law establishing a public monopoly regime with regard to the organisation and intermediation of sporting bets".

In its ruling, the CJEU ruled that the German regime is in breach of fundamental EU principles laid out in the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) that generally prohibit restrictions being placed on the freedom to provide services across the trading bloc.

The CJEU said the TFEU precludes an EU country "from penalising the unauthorised intermediation of sporting bets on its territory on behalf of an economic operator holding a licence to organise sporting bets in another member state: where the issue of an authorisation to organise sporting bets is subject to the obtaining of a licence by that operator in accordance with a procedure for the award of licences … if the referring court finds that that procedure does not observe the principles of equal treatment and non-discrimination on grounds of nationality and the consequent obligation of transparency".

The CJEU said that position applies if "to the extent that, despite the entry into force of a national provision permitting the grant of licences to private operators, application of the provisions establishing a public monopoly regime with regard to the organisation and intermediation of sporting bets, deemed by the national courts to be contrary to EU law, has persisted in practice".

The European Gaming & Betting Association (EGBA) said the European Commission should now step in to prompt reforms to online betting rules in Germany.

"The German online gambling regime still violates EU law and cannot be enforced," Maarten Haijer, secretary general of EGBA, said. "The European Commission must now swiftly open an infringement case against Germany to ensure it changes its course rather than persists with the failed interstate treaty. A comprehensively and cautiously prepared reconsideration of the legal framework, which needs to be carefully adapted to the realities of the digital 21st century, will allow German consumers access to a competitive and regulated online offer under the protective umbrella of German legislation."

"Existing regulation in Schleswig-Holstein, the proposal put forward by Hesse as well as other European regulatory models like the Danish one can provide good inspiration for successful regulation," Haijer said.

Gaming and gambling law expert Diane Mullenex said the ruling is very positive for the gaming industry because it "confirms that Germany has now to move on and start regulating online gambling in an appropriate fashion".

"As Germany is one of the largest markets in Europe, operators and providers of gaming services have high hopes that a proper infringement case will be opened against Germany by the European Commission," Mullenex said. "Similar circumstances have pushed France to regulate, although such regulations are now seen to be rather uncompetitive and strenuous both from the compliance point of view and the tax rate. This is probably why stakeholders are pushing for regulations similar to those that apply in Denmark; expecting the worst and hoping for the best."





Gambling body calls for EU to act on German online gambling rules after CJEU ruling

California’s font online poker regulatory hopes showed flickers of life this week following the release of new draft legislation and a meeting of key tribal gaming groups.

Late last month, California Assemblyman Adam Gray filed amendments to his AB 431 online poker legislation that would offer state racetracks up to $60m in annual payments in exchange for giving up the opportunity to be an active participant in the state’s proposed regulated online poker market.

AB 431, which until last month had been a shell bill with little in the way of detail, now specifies a 15% tax rate for online poker licensees, which would be limited to established tribal casinos and state card rooms. Licensees would have to ante up $15m deposits, from which future tax payments will be deducted. Licensees would be able to operate up to two online poker sites.

Gray’s plan calls for the tracks to receive the first $60m of the state’s annual online poker revenue, 95% of which would go toward racing purses and pari-mutuel employee retirement plans, while the other 5% would support state agricultural fairs.

The bill has been deemed an urgency statute, meaning it will require a two-thirds favorable vote in both of the state’s legislative chambers. Assuming that happens, the state would have 270 days following passage in which to craft the necessary regulations.

I WAS TOLD THERE WOULD BE NO MATH
The tracks’ desire to add online poker to their existing advance deposit wagering sites has been fiercely opposed by the state’s tribal gaming industry, which maintains that the tracks have never offered poker in any form and to do so now would violate the exclusivity provisions of tribal-state gaming compacts.

On Thursday, Gray convened a meeting of tribal leaders in the hopes of garnering support for his plan. Longtime tribal gaming reporter Dave Palermo’s recap of Gray’s meeting indicated some tribes came away thinking they’d made progress while others felt they were no further ahead.

A representative of the tribes that have inked a partnership with Amaya Gaming’s PokerStars brand said they had “agreed not to oppose” AB 431 although California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA) chairman Steve Stallings expressed concern that the financial provisions of Gray’s bill would have to be “rolled back.”

Stalling maintains that the expenses associated with launching the state’s poker market will make the sites unprofitable for the first four years, meaning “there’s not going to be any income to tax.” Despite his support for Gray’s efforts to buy off the tracks, Stallings believes “the total economics of the bill don’t work.”

This latter sentiment was echoed by the tribal coalition that has historically been the biggest barrier to online poker legislative progress. David Quintana, a lobbyist representing tribes led by the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians, expressed his belief that AB 431’s figures “aren’t real world.”

But Quintana rejected suggestions that the Pechanga coalition had given up its opposition to ‘bad actors’ like PokerStars participating in the state’s online poker market. Quintana said the Pechanga coalition would insist that the matter be resolved before the bill came up for a vote on the Assembly floor.

It remains to be seen whether the tracks will accept Gray’s bribe. Just prior to Gray’s meeting, Assemblyman Mike Gatto told PokerNews that he put the odds of California passing online poker legislation in 2016 at less than 10%. Gatto, who filed his own poker bill last year, said stakeholders were “too focused on their own power politics or egos to come together.”



California Online Poker Bill Offers Racing $60m Carrot | Online Gambling News : CalvinAyre-com

I think that California passing online poker legislation. Tax money is what they need!! Tax money is what every state in the US need. :warning

Thinks are going to change very soon!!

Due to the ongoing financial crisis in Russia, many industry analysts believe that now more than ever online poker could become legalized and regulated in the country.

It is estimated that as many as 20 percent of Russia's population of 144 million is playing poker on the Internet and contributing a huge amount of liquidity to online poker rooms. Former British MP and International Business Times contributor Paul Keetch reported that 8.4 percent of the PokerStars customer base is from Russia, according to data from the world's largest poker room.

Since poker is not regulated in Russia, it is believed that the government is currently not receiving any tax revenue from gaming operators. The rumors surrounding online poker regulation therefore not only have the attention of the poker community, but taxation specialists as well.

Russian poker player Maxim Katz recently commented about this, stating that, "In particular, poker went underground after the ban. The game did decline, but not for long. And the [national] budget stopped receiving taxes."

Rumors began heating up earlier in the year when news broke that the Russian government is considering designating poker as a game of skill. Many believe this could help open the doors in creating a regulated online poker licensing scheme in the country.

This viewpoint also has the endorsement of the World Chess Federation, with the head of the organization, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, stating to the International Business Times that "Concerning online poker and its legalization in Russia, it should be legalized; too many people are involved and are playing online. There are no reasons that it should be hidden and illegal. I've prepared my proposals concerning legalisation of online poker in Russia and have presented them to the Russian government. And I am working together with the government in order to allow online poker to become an intellectual sport in Russia."

Ilyumzhinov's support is believed to be influential, as the multi-millionaire businessman has the ear of Russian President Vladimir Putin and is also been influential with the Kremlin in the past.


Taxation May Lead the Way To Online Poker Legislation in Russia | PokerNews