It is not a surprise to many that the bill is suspected to be heavily backed by Sheldon Adelson, arguably the world’s biggest (and richest) opponent to online gambling regulations in the US. The billionaire casino tycoon has made it his life’s mission over the past six plus months to put a stop to state-regulated online gambling, banning any online gambling at the federal level.

An Adelson lobbyist was identified early on as an author of an early draft of the bill, and it is very similar to the goals and policies set forth by Adelson’s campaign, the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling.

Co-sponsors of the House and Senate versions of the bill, which appear to be identical, are Senators Kelly Ayotte, Mike Lee, and Dianne Feinstein in the Senate, and in the House, Representatives Emanuel Cleaver, Jim Matheson, Jim Jordan, Tulsi Gabbard, Trent Franks, James Lankford, Frank Wolf, and Lamar Smith.

The RAWA also doesn’t make any exclusions for existing states that have passed state-regulated online gambling, which thus far include Delaware, Nevada, and New Jersey, and California is close on their heels.

The Las Vegas Review Journal claims that these states “would need to come to Congress for permission to continue that arrangement” if the bill passes.

However, there is a clause in the RAWA that offers a partial exemption for in-person and computer-generated retail state lotto sales. Furthermore, the bill excludes horse racing, fantasy sports, insurance, securities, and other forms of betting.

At the same time, online poker proponents Senators Harry Reid and Dean Heller of Nevada are working on their own bill to rework the Wire Act that would include a carve out for online poker, in a similar way that fantasy sports were omitted from the UIGEA. Therefore, it may mean a compromised bill would need to be drafted before Senator Reid would vote to pass it.

Heller says, “Get the bill out there first, take a look at it, see what it does.”

On the other hand, Graham said to the Las Vegas Sun, “If you want to have a poker exception, offer an amendment and see if it will pass.”

During the month of November we are running a special freeroll promotion together with the US friendly poker room PlayersOnly Poker. Players signing up through Online Poker News before the 22nd of November will be getting a $650 first deposit bonus, a 33% lifetime rakeback deal and a ticket to a $15.000 Aussie Millions freeroll.

All you need to do in order to take advantage of this great offer at PlayersOnly is to create your account by clicking this link.

Expekt Poker – FREECOOP

The Europe facing poker room Expekt Poker is running a freeroll version of the popular iPoker tournament series ECOOP. This free tournament series is called FREECOOP and it is only available at Expekt Poker suring the month of November.

New players creating an account at Expekt Poker using the Expekt referrer code EXPwlm1005 will be able to take part in this freeroll series.

Titan Poker – $20.000 New Depositors Freeroll

Titan Poker are hosting a number of $20.000 freerolls for new depositors during the month of November. In order to get a free ticket to these freerolls at Titan Poker you will need to use the Titan Poker bonus code EASYTITAN when creating your poker account.

This is an offer only available for players signing up through below banner before November 22nd 2009.

Click the banner above and then click “sign-up“ in the left menu to qualify for this offer. Then you need to enter the poker section where you can download the poker software.

1. Match Bonus up to $650

Upon your first deposit to the poker room, you will qualify for a 100% match bonus up to max $650 which should give you a good start in your bankroll building. The bonus is quite easy to clear when comparing to many other online poker rooms. For every FPP (frequent player points) you earn, $0.06 of the bonus is cleared. For every dollar paid in tournament fees players receive 7 FPP’s.

2. Receive 33% Rakeback every month

Each and every month, 33% of your generated rake will be paid back to your poker account. This is your own money and there is no further clearing requirements for these payments. There is not any higher rakeback offers available on the Cake Poker network, where PlayersOnly is located. While receiving this PlayersOnly rakeback players are still eligible to receive other bonuses from Players Only, but the bonuses that you do earn are deducted from your rake amount when calculating your rakeback for the month.

3. Exclusive Aussie Million Freeroll Ticket

This is one of the best free chances you will get to qualify for this big poker event played in January 2010. Just make your first deposit, earn 200 FPP’s and you are qualified for this freeroll where you can win “A $15,000 Aussie Millions Trip Of A Lifetime” worth $15,000. This exclusive freeroll tourney is only available for some players and the value should be very good.

The $15K Aussie Millions Package includes the following:

• A 10 night stay at the luxurious Crown Promenade – January 22nd to February 1st.
• Entry to the official Aussie Millions Welcome Party – January 22nd.
• $10,500 Entry into the Aussie Millions Main Event – January 24th
• Entry to the Aussie Millions $50,000.00 Freeroll – January 26th.
• Entry to the Aussie Millions Farewell Party – January 31st.
• $1,500.00 cash to help with travel expenses.

Remember to register your account through the banner above. There is no need to enter a PlayersOnly bonus code To be really sure your account is being tracked correct, we recommend that you clear your temporary internet files and cookies, restart your browser window and visit this page again to register. If you want to confirm the tracking, you can always send us an email at info @ onlinepokernews.org

Name of tournament

Poker Room: Titan Poker

Requirements: In order to be able to participate in this freeroll you will need to create an account using the Titan Poker bonus code EASYTITAN and earn at least one Titan Point between the 29th of July and the 4th of August.

Password: Not needed. Buy in using one Titan Point.

First deposit bonus: 100% up to $500 plus a $25 instant bonus.

Tournament starting time: 6th of August 2009 at 19:05 CET.

The winner of this freeroll will win their buy-in to the PokerNews Cup Australia event. This package includes the $5000 buy-in for the Main Event and $1500 for cash and travel. Another $1000 will be added to the prize pool and will be distributed between the other players according to the Titan Poker tournament payout structure.

Poker Room: Poker770

Requirements: Create an account at Poker770 through our no deposit poker bonus page and get a free $7.70 bonus to use at Poker770. You will then also get access to all of the upcoming PokerNews freerolls at Poker770. All you need to do in order to get access to this freeroll is to make a deposit of at least $50.

Password: PNEWS23

First deposit bonus: 100% bonus on your first deposit up to the maximum amount of $500 that is credited to your pending bonus account.

Tournament starting time: 17th of July at 18:05 GMT.

This Poker770 freeroll is only open to players who create their accounts at Poker770 through our no deposit page and get the free $7.70 credited to their accounts.

Poker Room: Titan Poker

Requirements: Deposit at least $50 and earn at least 1 Titan Point between the 8th of July 2009 and 12th of July 2009.

Password: Not Needed

First deposit bonus: 100% bonus on your first deposit up to the maximum amount of $500 that is credited to your pending bonus account. On top of this you will be getting a $50 instant bonus that will be credited to your real money balance. If you make a deposit of $50 for for example your starting balance will be $100 plus a pending bonus of $50.

Tournament starting time: 14th of July at 18:45 GMT.

This freeroll is only open to players who create their account through OnlinePokerNews.org and enter the Titan Poker bonus code EASYTITAN during the registration process. If you already have an account at Titan Poker you will not be able to create a new one through us.

Name of tournament

Requirements: Deposit at least $50 and generate 25 FullTilt Points between the 5th of July 2009 and 10th of July 2009.

First deposit bonus: 100% bonus on your first deposit up to the maximum amount of $600 when you create your account using the Full Tilt Poker referral code EASYTILT.

Tournament starting time: 12th of July at 16:35 GMT.

In order to be able to participate in this freeroll you have to create your account through our Full Tilt Poker review page and use the referral code EASYTILT.

You will find this freeroll by clicking the Tournament tab in the FullTilt Poker client and then clicking the tab called “Private”.

Name of tournament:

Requirements: Deposit at least $50 and generate 10 Titan Points before the 8th of June to be elegible for this WSOP Freeroll.

First deposit bonus: $50 instant bonus plus 100% up to $500 pending bonus when using the Titan Poker bonus code EASYTITAN.

Tournament starting time: 10th June 2009 – 18:45 GMT.

In order to be able to participate in this tournament you must create your account through our Titan Poker Review page and use the bonus code EASYTITAN.

The winner of this freeroll will receive a WSOP Main Event package worth $13.000.