Mississippi state Rep. Bobby Moak is trying for the third time to legalize online poker in Mississippi. Similar bills that he introduced in 2012 and 2013 did not pass out of committee.
Moak’s current measure, the Mississippi Lawful Internet Gaming Act of 2015, would allow the state to enter into agreements with other jurisdictions–including other states, tribal governments and foreign nations–to share player liquidity. The bill would give internet service providers the authority to block access to illegal off-shore internet gambling sites. Individuals convicted of offering illegal online gaming could be fined up to $100,000 and sentenced to 10 years in prison; companies would face up to $250,000 in fines for each violation.
Unlike other states’ proposed online gaming bills, under Moak’s proposal players caught betting on illegal sites could be fined up to $10,000 and sentenced to up to 90 days in prison, and any property connected with or traced to winnings from the illegal online gambling could be confiscated.
However, Rich Muny, vice president of player relations and board member of the Poker Players Alliance, said, “I think all player penalties are misguided. Player penalties wrongly shift the target of enforcement efforts from hard-to-reach offshore sites to the players.”
Meanwhile, the results of a comprehensive study on internet gambling by experts appointed by Allen Godfrey, executive director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission, have yet to be released, although they were due last year. However, Godfrey recently stated, “It remains unlikely that Mississippi will copy other states that have legalized some form of Internet gaming.”
As part of the study, the panel members reviewed the performance of online gaming in Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware, the three states that already have already regulated it.
