Congressional Panel Advances Bipartisan Bill to Legalize Interstate Online Poker

27 October 2026

A key congressional panel has advanced a bipartisan bill that would legalize and regulate interstate online poker, a move that could reshape the US gambling landscape by generating millions in fees while providing robust consumer protections. The bill, similar to the Online Poker Freedom Act introduced in the previous Congress, would establish a regulatory framework overseen by a new Office of Internet Poker Oversight within the Department of Commerce. Licensed operators would be required to implement programs for responsible gaming, prevent cheating and fraud, and keep players’ funds secure.

“I can’t understand why everyone doesn’t agree that a regulated system makes all the sense in the world,” bill sponsor Joe Barton (R-TX) told his colleagues on the panel. “Instead of this 21st-century opportunity that would surely raise the federal Treasury in these tough economic times, we are treading water.”

The bipartisan Internet Poker Freedom Act had already attracted 6 co-sponsors, including two Democrats, when it was introduced in early 2013. It followed the successful passage of Nevada Assembly Bill 114, which cleared a major hurdle in legalizing online poker within the state and positioned Nevada to join interstate compacts for online poker. Gambling advocates hope the bill will help bring the massive online poker market out of the shadows. The American economy loses $50 billion annually to offshore poker sites, they estimate, at a cost of $8-10 billion in tax revenues.

Experts predict the bill would face an uphill battle in the full Congress. But if passed, the bill would represent the most significant advance in US gambling regulation in years, bringing the US further in line with many European nations. Internet gaming is legal in France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and the UK and generates substantial tax revenues for those countries. US authorities blew up the burgeoning online poker scene in 2006 with the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, but calls for a legal framework have only grown since then.

Mark Gribbin, General Counsel and Executive Director of the National Indian Gaming Association, lauded the bill as a means of state and federal policy goals. “The legislation strikes the right balance of preservation of state and tribal sovereignty while creating a structured system with consumer protection in interstate online gaming,” he said in a statement.

Regulatory Approach

Under the proposed bill, a new Office of Internet Poker Oversight would be created within the Department of Commerce to regulate licensed poker operators. State and tribal gaming regulators would be given a key oversight role. Strict anti-fraud and anti-money laundering measures would be implemented. Operators would be required to allow players to set their own loss limits and to exclude known problem gamblers.

“Our goal is about keeping bad things from happening which seems to be the purpose of regulation,” says bill co-author Rob Andrews (D-NJ). “This bill takes care of the bad guys, the cheaters, both on the side of the player and the house. And it only authorizes poker, not other forms of gambling.”

The American Gaming Association did not endorse the measure, leaving it to state and tribal gaming associations to push for its passage. While Congress has not enacted comprehensive gaming legislation in more than a decade, enough attention has been paid to keep a bill alive. In 2010, a similar bill by Barney Frank (D-MA), which aimed to repeal key portions of the 2006 UIGEA and establish a regulatory framework for the online gaming industry, successfully passed the House Financial Services committee—the most progress in recent memory, but it never came to a floor vote.

If the bill under current consideration does not clear a development that is unlikely, given the many interests it would impact, it would not be the end of the story. Regulatory and legislative activity has intensified over the past decade in all areas of gaming. More significantly than any previous development, Nevada’s leadership in moving online poker from porous legality to approval across state lines has opened the door to a broader federal response. If Nevada’s pioneering moves to legalize online poker drive more revenue for the state and are popular within Nevada, they suggest that other states are likely to follow, generating additional pressure for action. In an now familiar cycle, legislative and regulatory movement at the state level often prompts federal action.

Where that leads remains to be seen. With recreational gambling now legal in just two states, and only a handful of others considering a more serious approach, online poker presents the closest thing to a consensus opportunity for real change.