- Joe Barton expected to introduce new federal bill “soon.”
- Fahrenkopf also discusses tribes, New Jersey, and Pokerstars in iGNA conference keynote speech.
Outgoing American Gaming Association (AGA) president Frank Fahrenkopf, speaking Wednesday at the iGaming North America (iGNA) Conference, asserted that federal legislation with aim of authorizing and regulating internet poker at the US federal level is a topic still receiving active consideration.
Fahrenkopf, whose AGA, a powerful lobbying organization on behalf of American land-based casino interests, remains a supporter of internet gaming regulation at the federal level.
The collapse two months ago of attempts to attach a federal bill, commonly referred to as Reid/Kyl, left a void in possible D.C. legislation and left the likely prospect of state-by-state legislative battles to fully legalize and regulate online poker.
However, according to Fahrenkopf, a new federal bill is likely to be introduced soon by Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, a prominent supporter and sponsor of earlier federal internet gaming efforts.
Fahrenkopf included several politically-motivated opinions within his keynote address at iGNA, which is expected to be one of his final appearances at the AGA’s helm.
Among other comments, Fahrenkopf addressed the topic of tribal gaming’s impact on the future of i-gaming legislation by asserting that only through federal-level legislation can tribes’ demands for sovereignty be addressed.
Fahrenkopf also took a moment to toss a barb at offshore giant PokerStars and its parent company, Rational Group, for its attempts to establish a toehold in the New Jersey market, referred to Stars/Rational Group as “... or whatever you call them these days …” when mentioning Stars’ pending purchase of the struggling Atlantic City casino.
Fahrenkopf’s AGA is also believed to be the driving force behind proposed amendments to Nevada’s existing online-poker law that include multiple poison pills aimed squarely at PokerStars. This includes a ten-year “bad actor” lockout clause for companies that did business with US-based players after December 31, 2006.
The poison-pill amendments are included in a revised version of the proposed updates currently being fast-tracked through the Nevada state legislature, which NV Governor Brian Sandoval expects to approve within 30 days.
Fahrenkopf also commented on rival gambling state New Jersey’s challenge to the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) of 1992, which has given Nevada casinos an American monopoly on land-based sports betting for over two decades.
Unsurprisingly, Fahrenkopf predicted that New Jersey will fail in its legal challenge, a result which would necessarily favor the casino interests Fahrenkopf and the AGA have long represented.
The New Jersey sports betting battle was the scheduled topic for later IGNA discussion panels, with New Jersey-based gambling experts expected to rebuff Fahrenkopf’s partisan views.