Florida to Study Online Poker

The latest state to get involved in the fight for legal U.S. poker is Florida. Governor Charles Grist has just put his signature to legislation passed by state congress last May authorizing an in-depth study into online poker’s potential impact on an intrastate (that’s state-to-state) basis.

If the report weighs positively for online poker, it would mean both politicians and the people’s will would be served. The politicians who’ve been waiting to license and regulate online poker could then finally bring their state the revenue they’ve been needing. And the U.S. public could go back to playing real money online poker again.

More than just to give a favorable or unfavorable rating to online poker, this report is also designed to examine measures the state can take to protect its residents, particular underage and vulnerable residents but also all citizens of the state from unregulated poker sites based offshore. It also seeks to analyze the state’s risk to its existing land-based poker enterprises.

Helping to draft HB225, the bill dealing with the report, were sister lobby groups the Poker Voters of America and American Poker Ventures, also involved in the drafting of internet poker legislation for California. The President of the two groups, Jim Tabilio, was quoted by eGaming Review as saying that it is imperative that the model a state adopts, “makes sense for consumers, creates a workable and sustainable business model, and ensures significant revenue for the state.

The results of the report could appear before the Florida state Senate by December of this year. Analysts suggest that this action could signal the imminent introduction of an implementation bill as early as the beginning of 2010.