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By the end of 2011, the legalization of online poker could finally take place in the US. The support of the Congress and land-based casinos contributes to this, as does the American Government that is seizing every single source of income in today's financial crisis.

Casino Support

The Casino Lobby that reviewed and prevented legalization of online poker seems to have taken a 180 degree turn, and got into fight for legalization.

Gary Loveman, Caesars Entertainment Corporation CEO told press about the unexpected change in an interview in the beginning of August. Loveman emphasized, that the current bizarre laws prohibit American companies to offer online games, however, American citizens can play on sites that are maintained by other countries.


'I can not say another example for an American being able to buy something no American company can offer' said Loveman. He also mentioned that American companies should be provided the opportunity to fill in the gaps that arose when the offshore companies got shut down. According to the CEO, thousands of Americans would also gain jobs because of the legalization, not to mention the huge amount of possible tax income for the States.

The support of Caesars is exceptionally important in this fight, as we are talking about the world's largest chain of casinos, which operates more than 50 hotels and casinos, with its yearly income reaching 9 billion dollars.

Congress Support

Harry Reid (Nevada) Senator has been supporting legalization of online poker since the beginning, and is the most prominent figure in the fight.

Michael Grimm (US Representative from New York) says one of his main aims while he is in Congress is to legalize online poker. 'We have to strive together to be able to provide quality jobs in the US and the legalization of online poker would help reach this goal'.

Jay Rockefeller (West Virginia) would help the US acquire income from 18 new fields, and one of these is poker. According to him, the Government could collect 42 billion dollars from online gambling in ten years.

The 'Debt Super Committee'

In order to solve the US debt problems, the Debt Super Committee has been formed, with the aim of reducing the deficit by 1.5 billion dollars in the next ten years. Members of the committee will create a 'bunch' of regulations, which will not allow future modification, only approval or veto.

For the poker players, it is good news that Jon Kyl (Arizona) Republican Senator has also joined the committee, and Jon is quite often associated with Harry Reid and the legalization of Internet poker, and he also recently mentioned on his website that he would be able to bear the thought of legalizing online poker.

Governmental Support

The US is in a financial crisis, and for the above mentioned reasons (new jobs, new sources of income, ...) they will sooner or later have to stand beside the ones struggling for legalization.


But When Will it Happen?

The crowd for the prohibition of online poker is getting smaller and smaller, and more and more people wish to regulate it for the sake of customer protection and taxes. If things get worse in the US, and Jon Kyl Senator continues to stand by the issue, 2011 could be the year online poker gets legalized in the United States of America.