And, thankfully, Frank is not alone. Authoring a companion measure designed to levy a tax on internet gambling is Representative Jim McDermott of Washington state. This bill seeks to impose a 2% of the gross receipts of online gaming sites licensed under Frank’s bill.

Put the two bills together and you see a vision starting to take shape that is a boon to online poker players and the economically ravaged U.S. government alike.  One site that has not folded under the USA pressure is Black Chip Poker.  They continue to operate even with the current UIGEA regulations.

But as we all eagerly await his (imminent?) success, the states aren’t waiting at all. Lawyer and Washington State Director of the Poker Players Alliance sadly failed in his effort to get a Washington court to repeal a state ban on internet gambling as it was a violation of certain constitutional rights. But the court upheld the ban, and the fight in Washington goes on.

Meanwhile, Californians (including Governor Arnold) tries to make CA the first state to legalize online poker and online gambling, and allow the state to collect a revenue from it by regulating it.