With debt crisis resolved, lawmakers may turn to online gambling

Legislators have been holed up in Washington for several weeks, with the threat of a national crisis only days away. By Sunday night, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle praised themselves for bi-partisan politics, forgetting about the months of partisan debates before this weekend.

While the legislators were busy claiming that the US avoided a disastrous situation, online poker players started to get the feeling that their issue could again become an important one moving forward. With the debt-ceiling talks in the rear-view mirror, it is time for lawmakers to focus on increasing revenue.

"This is the perfect opportunity for the government to consider regulating online poker," said poker enthusiast Grant Hoffman. "All of these lawmakers have seen firsthand how bad the financial situation is, and I don't think any of them will deny how much money online poker could generate."

The actual figures being tossed around by pro-online gaming groups are in the billions. If the US were to regulate online gambling and allow companies to pay for licenses to operate, billions could be made in the next ten years. That is according to several studies that have been done on Internet gambling.

The legislators will also have some time to sort out the various bills that have been proposed regarding online gambling. Session will be in recess until September 5th after the marathon debates this past week. At that time, legislators such as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Representative John Campbell will resume lobbying fellow lawmakers to change the Internet gambling laws.

While federal lawmakers are taking a break, several state legislators are moving forward with their plan to regulate on a state level. New Jersey Senator Raymond Lesniak asserted again this past week that his belief is that New Jersey, and other states, can create online gambling regulations without the industry being regulated on a national level.

Lawmakers in Florida, California, and Iowa have said the same thing earlier this year. Nevada has already passed online gambling legislation, although it will not take affect until federal laws are changed. Washington DC has also allowed online gambling, with an online casino set to launch later this year.