Guys…..we have 6 months…..That’s it.
Here’s how it works for those of you outside the USA:
-* The bill passed the House of Representatives.
— Now it needs to go through a committee in the Senate (about 12 senators). This is considered a mere formality. Usually this gets through.
— Then it needs to pass the Senate. It has to pass THIS year (2006). OTHERWISE IT DIES…. THE BLACKBOARD IS ERASED AND THE CLOCK STARTS ALL OVER AGAIN.
Bills need to pass in the Senate and the House during the same 2 year session. The current session is 2004-2006.
Each year this industry grows more powerful in both dollars and political power. The worldwide online casino industry is RIGHT NOW doing the equivalent of 10% of all LAND BASED gaming revenue in the USA.
So there is ALOT of lobbying going on. And we have friends, like the Horse Racing Industry, which is trying everything it can to get out of its financial ruts. Online Horse Betting is approved in California. YouBet and other companies are ALL over the Senate lobbying.
Then there are state Lotteries, which see the money going to schools and other state funded things.
-PROBLEM: The only problem is the guy gunning for this bill is Senator Kyl. He is a very very sly and tricky politician. As the chairman of the “Technology and Terrorism Committee,” during 1999-2001 instead of watching out for terrorists, he spent his time trying to push a similar bill (the old ‘Kyl Bill’) through the Senate. He got it through with a vote of 3-0 back in year 2000.
But there are 100 Senators, you ask? Yes, there are. He waited until the Friday before Christmas when there were only 3 other Senators in the House. He made deals with them to approve certain bills. They called a quorum and the bill was passed 3 to nothing.
Back then, it never became law because the House never approved it in years 2000-2001.
What amazed me is that September 11 occurred on HIS watch. He was chairman of the Tech and Terrorism committee. John McCain (AZ) a very popular senator – hates this guy. And the State of Arizona RE-ELECTED him in 2004. Unbelievable.
But this guy is capable of pulling serious stunts. I imagine he will try the same tricks from 6 years ago. The lobbying needs to be VERY strong to stop him.
But if it is stopped before late December 2006 / early Jan 2007, then it is BOOM times for the online gaming industry.
Marc Lesnick
Conference Organizer
Casino Affiliate Convention
http://www.cac2006.com
September 14-15, 2006
Las Vegas