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Kansas Fails to Ban Online Gambling

April 10, 2013

Kansas legislators voted against a bill that had sought to criminalize online gambling within the state. This clause was in fact part of a wider raft of measures. The measures had been intended to attract gambling investment in physical casinos to the four zones in the state that allow gambling. Legislators from the Southeast corner of the state had been pushing for the passing of this bill as their region is the only one of the four to fail to attract gaming investment. This might be due to the area being lowly populated. Furthermore, with gaming opportunities offered across the border in north-eastern Oklahoma by several casinos investors may not see the need for the investment.

On a high note, the bill sought to reduce the entrance investment and development price needed to qualify from $225 million to a more enticing sum of $50 million to be applied in the Kansas Southeast unoccupied gambling zone in order to stimulate investment. However, the bill proposed to ban online gambling by turning it into a Class B non-person select misdemeanor. Such offence carries penalties of up to six months jail time or a fine of one thousand dollars for the offender. This clause was an amendment to the bill that was recently passed. Furthermore, the bill proposed video games and electronic slot machines from that state’s para-mutual gambling locales. This proposed ban would take effect immediately and would last until the year 2032. Opponents of these proposed bans saw them as a transparent attempt at appeasing anti-gaming voices.

In a surprising move, some of the legislators who had helped pass the amendment clause banning online gaming went on to vote against the entire bill. The amendment which passed 26-11 was part of the bill that was thrown out 25-14 by the state legislature.

Written by Johnny · Filed Under Poker News 

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