Online Poker not included in payroll tax legislation

According to online news website Politico, American politicians have reached a conclusion regarding the payroll tax and unemployment benefits extension legislation and online poker will not be included.

Last week, a senior staff member reportedly said that online poker in the federal level was not included in the payroll and unemployment bills due to the wide opposition from Indian tribes and state lotteries. A bipartisan House and Senate committee still needs to approve the deal that was reached last week, but the staff member said that still pushing for online poker will be opposed by a lot of people in Washington.

Nevada Senator and online poker proponent Harry Reid planned to include online poker in the bill by introducing an amendment, but the Senator's effort did not push through after concluding that the entire payroll and unemployment legislation might be compromised.

Gaming lobbyists are actively proposing online poker at the federal level before states outside of Nevada license intrastate online poker. President Barack Obama's upcoming jobs bill or the bipartisan Cybersecurity Act of 2012 may be online poker's next opportunity to be included in a federal legislation that is if lawmakers do not wait for a lame-duck session to introduce a poker bill independently.