We aren’t in the least little bit surprised to find out that the states of Nevada and New Jersey are considering jumping into bed together to offer online poker to US fans of this game. A joint online gambling market would mean greater liquidity for both operators and players if a bi-state gambling biz was the name of the game. When we talk about greeter liquidity, we mean much larger player pools, and therefore much more prize money to be won.

This idea is once again the brain-child of U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, who has been trying his damndest for years to get online gambling –re-legalised in the USA. Reid is a firm believer that people should be allowed to do whatever they desire, in the privacy and comfort of their own homes. We agree, as long as it is consensual and no innocent parties get hurt. The government could argue that online gambling can be addictive, but so are prescription drugs, cigarettes and alcohol which are all freely on sale, in the USA.

A bottle store owner doesn’t say to a customer – I think you have a drinking problem, and I will no longer sell you booze. By the very same token, ADULTS are the potential market for any online gambling activities, and they have the right to make their own decisions, as well as mistakes. Gambling is not the problem, people are the problem, and people therefore have to take responsibility for their own actions.

That having been said, State casino regulators and gambling business execs have been discussing the possibility of a merge in the form of a “New Jersey/Nevada internet gambling compact”. The reasons for this are quite clear, as we explained in the first paragraph, it is very possible that one State – on its own – would not make for sustainable business opportunities. Say nothing of poor prize pools for players, which is plainly an unattractive prospect.

Supporters off this merge are envisaging that it should come to fruition by sometime in 2014. However, the Nevada Legislature does not convene again until February 2015. But that is not the end of the story, committee chairs who handle legislation would have to be included in this process, and to date have no idea of what is being cooked up by Reid.

But Reid believes that legislatures for both States may not be required. He is of the opinion that Federal legislation can achieve the compact which will allow for this marriage made in heaven (?) to take place before 2015. He has been entertaining the idea of the compact for a while now, after having worked extremely hard to get online gambling and not only poker, made legal in the United States.

There has been such a huge scandal surrounding the fact that Members of the Board of Tiltware lined their own pockets at the expense of fans who played at Full Tilt Poker (FTP), it really is about time that everything got sorted out now. Its seems that 2013 might be the year when everything falls into place, the Department of Justice are happy, and online gambling in the USA finally becomes legal. Well…one can only hope. At the centre of the FTP scandal have been Chris (Jesus) Ferguson, Howard Lederer, Ray Bitar and Rafe Furst – well mostly these players have been mentioned.

Rafe Furst has surrendered a Trust Fund held in a Swiss Bank Account (?), plus agreed to pay the DoJ about $150 000 in fines. Howard Lederer knew that the DoJ had set their sights on his mansion, and has managed to stave off the forfeiture of this piece of property by bargaining with the authorities to take something else instead. In fact he has pledged to them, the proceeds from the sale of a property in Twin Palms Circle Las Vegas, as well as traceable proceeds from the sale of his Kingsclear Court, Las Vegas, property. So that is two Las Vegas properties he is down, and there is only something like five to go.

He has also forfeited his 1965 Shelby Cobra , plus funds a Lloyds TSB International account located on the Isle of Man. We have no idea what the amount involved with this transaction is. There is also an additional retirement account which was arranged using FTP funds, and this too has gone to the feds.

Apparently these monetary amount, plus those being surrendered by Raef Furst are going directly into the $184 (or thereabouts) owed to US online poker players; if and when they are able to process their claims with the DoJ. One would however assume that some of the funds paid to them in the FTP sale to PokerStars would have been earmarked for this process. However, we don’t know the finer details of the sale, only how many millions it cost.

It appears that only Ray Bitar and Chris Fergusson have to settle with the DoJ, which might be a faster process now that these two gamblers have fessed up and settled. It certainly goes to show that big money can keep you out of jail, as most of the deals made with the DoJ have entailed, forfeiture of vast amounts of money to admit no wrong-doing, and avoid any future prosecution. This is what PokerStars, Rafe Furst and Howard Lederer are all currently paying for. We suppose they have learned one thing from this – that crime doesn’t pay, but if you can pay, you can also get off the charges.

These charges included but were not limited to "conspiracy to commit bank, and or wire fraud, money laundering, as well as operating an illegal online gambling business." An amendment to the charges also accused these people of misrepresentation in that player funds were "safe and secure" both prior to and after Black Friday.

We have been seeing the same news for what seems to be years, and very little changes in terms of Federal regulation for the game of online poker in the USA. Certainly the State of Nevada has made this form of gaming legal and is currently issuing licenses, but this is for intrastate poker online. The Federal Government has said as much – each state must decide, and legislate for themselves.

However, in December last year, the Department of Justice changed their stance on the matter of legality for online gambling. Basically the Interstate Wire Act of 1961 was revisited, and the DoJ opinion released that only sports betting is illegal. The online poker industry has mobilized rapidly, joint ventures are in place, and Nevada has passed legislation for online poker, while the state of Delaware has made legal the full gamut of casino games for the Internet.

The American Gaming Association has released a white paper, and they represent just about every US casino operator, as well as gambling equipment manufacturers. The report states that $4 billion is spent annually by American who play at offshore casino and poker websites. They peg the potential for the online gambling industry to make between $6 billion and $10 billion annually. Is the payday close for these operators, they seem to think so, but is it time to start picking winners?

The problem is actually three-fold; the industry can only look at the potential for regulating online poker for the meantime. The potential turnover for this game would not be $6 billion and $10 billion annually, only a fraction of this. The second problem is that online poker alone, might not be all that attractive a business proposition for potential operators, and the third issue is certain states will not opt to legalize and regulate, so, it needs to happen on a federal level. In its present position the market is much too small, or too shaky to be a viable proposition.

Overseas we see that online poker sites are closing their doors on a regular basis. While we see PokerStars doing well, they actually monopolizing the marketplace because of their massive liquidity. A good example would be IGT’s purchase of Entraction, only to find that they were compelled to close this poker network. Regulation in Europe is also a tricky task to breach. The Italian industry is failing, France is a nightmare of regulatory red tape, Will Hill Poker is losing business as is Bwin.party and others. Fortunately for 888 Poker, they also seem to be doing something right and their business has grown.

But what we are seeing is that online poker alone is not financially viable in many instances. Operators need to be able to offer the whole range of online gambling games. So, with the exception of Delaware which state apparently sees the bigger picture, very little can change if the Federal Government does not come to the party, and offering online poker without the addition of other Internet gambling games, simply won’t cut the mustard.

While there has never been a doubt that the online gambling industry has a massive interest in offering online poker games to the public; this game has also evolved to such a degree, that there is on-going growing interest from the public also. If there had not been so much interest from the paying public, this game would not have grown as it has.

There has been much ado about nothing happening, regarding playing online poker in the USA for a few years, where the department of Justice has insisted that playing this game was illegal. So much so, that they closed down the biggest online poker sites in the US last year in April 2011. In the process, the DoJ managed to put most of these sites out of business – the only survivor being PokerStars. But then again the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA enacted 2006), also put paid to plenty of poker potential.

What is so paradoxical about the online poker situation in the USA, is the fact that the game is as American as apple pie. However, that having been said, the Poker Players Alliance and many other protagonists for the game, have been trying to prove that it is okay to play online as it is a game of skill, not gambling.

Now all kinds of worms are coming out of the woodwork, the DoJ has had a change of heart, but are still prosecuting people who were indicted under UIGEA. They have also said that the only gambling game not allowed is online sports betting, so, we are in the dark about what’s real any more in the states.

A recent scientific research from the University of Rotterdam (Department of Economics), Holland, sees poker classified as a game of skill. And now a Judge in the USA – Federal District Court Judge Jack Weinstein – has agreed. Poker is a game of skill!

The fact of the matter is, that the lawyers defending a gentleman who was running a home poker game, put up such a good argument, that the judge simply had to agree. They argued that – "increased proficiency boosts a player’s chance of winning and affects the outcome of individual hands as well as a series of hands. Expert poker players draw on an array of talents, including facility with numbers, knowledge of human psychology, and powers of observation and deception." We already know this to be true.

John Pappas of the Poker Players Alliance – said they have waited very patiently for the right opportunity to arise to take the game of poker to a Federal Court. This was the right opportunity, where this association of poker players, played a major role in securing the “not guilty” verdict. They believe this federal court ruling is a most important victory for the game.

The judge noted that "poker has a long history in the United States, has been embraced by many political and other public figures. " Finally… perhaps something has now got to give?!