Online Gaming Legislation & Other Insightful Observations

Thanks for your patience while I was at Res11. I love Las Vegas hotels but I don't think I'm going back to Roman Towers at Caesar’s Palace. I think they were actually built by the Romans. 

• I guess the big news of the week is the introduction of an online gaming bill (H.R. 1174) to the House Committee on Financial Services. Fierce gaming opponent, Rep. Bachus (R - AL)., chairs the commitee. He's not the only one. You can expect a dogfight. The legislation would also:

o   Prohibit the use of credit cards to gamble online; debit cards would be accepted or funds put in a prepaid account.

o   Prohibit sports betting, except for pari-mutuel racing permitted by state law.

o   Require that betters set loss limits.

o   Prohibit any operator that had taken bets from the U.S. in violation of federal or state laws from obtaining a license.

o   Require an operator to have a substantial U.S. presence to obtain a license and that at least 50% of employees be U.S. residents or citizens.

o   Prohibit advertising aimed at minors or problem gamblers.

o   Prohibit licensees from accepting bets from those on a self-exclusion list.

o   Prohibit licensees from accepting bets from persons delinquent in child support payments.

• The Mashpee Wampanoag hire former U.S. Rep. William Delahunt and the New England media explodes in faux outrage. If they hired incompetent consultants would that make them happy? I doubt it.
• Legislation for a mascot? Really? What century am I living in? Don’t they have more important things to do in North Dakota? You really can't underestimate the stupidity of government.
• Robert Porter, president of the Seneca Nation of Indians urged tribes at RES11 to diversify beyond gambling and tobacco. Smart advice. I hope they were listening because the man practices what he preaches.
• I’ve been following the James Ray Sweat-Lodge trial because I have a real issue with these big phony-baloney culture vultures. $15,000 to sit in a sweat lodge? We would have never got into gaming if we had thought of that first.
• Suge Knight arrested in a Las Vegas casino fight? Sorry, just wanted to say that. Maybe he’ll fight Paquio next?
• Gov. Chaffee of Rhode Island hires a consultant to look at the expansion of gaming. This might be the big break the Narragansetts have been looking for. Good luck, guys. My heart goes out to you.
• Juaneño Band of Mission Indians were denied federal recognition again. "A house divided against itself cannot stand” – Abraham Lincoln. That’s all I have to say about that.
• WEBSITE NEWS: We added two days worth of content on Tuesday to the primary category pages for the morning crew. Haven’t had one complaint since the fix. I told you it was a work in progress. We also fixed the tags at the bottom of the page. You now get content instead of calendar. Makes sense to me too.
• WEBSITE NEWS: My friends at Elephant Ventures are working on my Tribal Directory. I’ll finally be able to tag the news articles with a tribal affiliation. Do you have any idea how many tribes there are in the US & Canada? A bunch!!
• WEBSITE NEWS: Please register your business in the Merchant Directory. It's free for links. A small fee for banners.

Thanks for staying informed,

Victor Rocha

victor@pechanga.net