Update: Online Poker Initiative in Hawaii No More

Legislative deadline puts an end to the bill

According to the latest reports from the US state of Hawaii, which recently saw an initiative to legalize online and live poker with an aim to boost tourism and revenues from online betting, the initiative has been defeated by a legislative deadline, because the bill failed to get a public hearing in the Legislature by April 8, and therefore got into a dead end for this year.

As one of the two US states that doesn't have any form of legalized gambling (the other one is Utah), Hawaii would exempt poker from the state laws with this measure, by defining it as a game of skill rather than chance, but only permitting Texas Hold 'em and Omaha poker, and prohibiting games played against a computer or casino, such as video poker.

According to Rep. Angus McKelvey, chairman for the House Economic Revitalization & Business Committee, "For the silent working majority of Hawaii, this offered revenue to the state without the social ills of other types of gaming, and it was a way to avoid nasty tax increases.

It was McKelvey's plan to boost tourism in Hawaii by even holding televised tournaments like the World Series of Poker, from which tournament fees would have brought money into the cash-strapped state.
Still, the bill included some rather ambitious plans, as well, such as the one involving legalization of Internet poker sites with a fee of $100 million to locate servers in Hawaii.

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