As many states begin to create legislation for online poker options, a few states are still behind the curve. Kansas is one state that has been working AWAY from online poker instead of towards it. A bill that would ban all forms of online gambling was sent to the state senate late last week. Fortunately, that’s about as far as it will go for the time being.
The bill did not get past the state senate after a vote of 24 to 15. House Bill 2055 was created and introduced in the state to modify the current statutes of gambling in the state as well as ban any form of online wagering. The bill was created to allow for more casinos to be placed in the southeast region of the state. This option would make it easier for new casinos to be built in the area.
If House Bill 2055 had passed, several things would have changed. A state casino management contract would move from $225 million to $50 million and the state lottery would not be allowed to place electronic gaming style machines in state racetracks until the summer of 2032, which is decades away.
Online gambling would also have been greatly affected. The bill would have placed online gambling as a Class B misdemeanor and the punishment for this charge would have been a $1,000 fine as well as much as six months in jail. However, if the bill had passed, it was not opting out of federal options, so the state would still have the ability to offer online gambling in the future.
Since the bill did not pass the state senate, it is a small victory for poker players. It will be interesting to see if similar legislation pops up in the area or if the opposite type of legislation is created to try and bring this option to the state.
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