I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2888 

To establish a program for the licensing of Internet poker by States and 

federally recognized Indian tribes, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 25, 2015 

Mr. BARTON (for himself, Mr. LANCE, and Mr. COHEN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish a program for the licensing of Internet poker 

by States and federally recognized Indian tribes, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Internet Poker Freedom Act of 2015’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 2888 IH

Sec. 2. Findings. 

TITLE I—PROHIBITION ON UNLICENSED INTERNET POKER AND 

PROTECTIONS FOR INTERNET POKER CONSUMERS 

Sec. 101. Definitions. 

Sec. 102. Prohibition on unlicensed Internet poker. 

Sec. 103. Department of Commerce qualification and oversight of Qualified 

Regulatory Authorities. 

Sec. 104. Licensing by Qualified Regulatory Authorities. 

Sec. 105. Enforcement. 

Sec. 106. Compulsive gaming, responsible gaming, and self-exclusion program 

requirements. 

Sec. 107. Prohibitions and restrictions. 

Sec. 108. Safe harbor. 

Sec. 109. Relation to subchapter IV of chapter 53 of title 31, United States 

Code. 

Sec. 110. Cheating and other fraud. 

Sec. 111. Construction and relation to other law. 

Sec. 112. Regulations. 

Sec. 113. Annual reports. 

Sec. 114. Effective date. 

TITLE II—STRENGTHENING OF UNLAWFUL INTERNET 

GAMBLING ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 2006 

Sec. 201. Financial transaction providers. 

Sec. 202. List of unlicensed Internet gambling enterprises. 

Sec. 203. Regulations. 

Sec. 204. Conforming amendments. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Since the development of the Internet, on4 line Web sites offering Internet poker have raised 

5 numerous policy, consumer protection, and enforce6 ment concerns for Federal, State, and tribal govern7 ments as such Web sites are run by operators lo8 cated in many different countries and have sought to 

9 attract customers from the United States. 

10 (2) The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforce11 ment Act of 2006 (title VIII of Public Law 109– 

12 347; 120 Stat. 1952) was intended to aid enforceVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 30, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2888.IH H2888

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 2888 IH

1 ment efforts against unlawful Internet operators and 

2 to limit unlawful Internet gaming involving United 

3 States persons. However, that Act has only been 

4 partially successful in doing so. 

5 (3) The Department of Justice has found that 

6 it is legal for States to license Internet poker and 

7 other forms of non-sports Internet gaming within 

8 their borders, and to compact with each other for 

9 interstate play. In response to this finding, three 

10 States have enacted legislation to license commercial 

11 operators to provide Internet poker or other Internet 

12 gaming services, and several other states are pro13 viding lottery services over the Internet. 

14 (4) Additional tools to assist law enforcement in 

15 the prevention of unlawful Internet gaming activities 

16 would be important and beneficial. Maintenance of a 

17 list of unlicensed Internet poker enterprises and the 

18 owners, operators, and key personnel of such enter19 prises (as well as entities and related personnel 

20 found unsuitable) would aid those law enforcement 

21 efforts and would make the Unlawful Internet Gam22 bling Enforcement Act more effective. 

23 (5) Poker is distinct from the class of games of 

24 chance traditionally defined as gambling in that 

25 players compete against each other, and not the perVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 30, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2888.IH H2888

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 2888 IH

1 son or entity hosting the game (sometimes called 

2 ‘‘the house’’), and that over any significant interval 

3 the outcome of a poker game is predominantly deter4 mined by the skill of the participants. 

5 (6) United States consumers would benefit from 

6 a program of Internet poker regulation which recog7 nizes the interstate nature of the Internet, but nev8 ertheless preserves the prerogatives of States and 

9 federally recognized Indian tribes. Such a system 

10 would require strict licensing of Internet poker pro11 viders and would require licensee operators to— 

12 (A) have effective means to prevent minors 

13 from playing poker on-line; 

14 (B) identify and help treat problem gam15 blers; 

16 (C) prevent minors and players in non-par17 ticipating States; 

18 (D) allow players to self-exclude and limit 

19 losses; and 

20 (E) prevent money laundering. 

21 (7) Such a program would create a new indus22 try within the United States creating thousands of 

23 jobs and substantial revenue for Federal, State, and 

24 tribal governments. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 2888 IH

1 TITLE I—PROHIBITION ON UNLI2 CENSED INTERNET POKER 

3 AND PROTECTIONS FOR 

4 INTERNET POKER CON5 SUMERS 

6 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

7 As used in this title, the following definitions apply: 

8 (1) APPLICANT.—The term ‘‘applicant’’ means 

9 any person who has applied for a license pursuant 

10 to this title. 

11 (2) BET OR WAGER.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

13 subparagraph (B), the term ‘‘bet or wager’’ has 

14 the meaning given the term in section 5362 of 

15 title 31, United States Code. 

16 (B) EXCEPTION.—The term ‘‘bet or 

17 wager’’ does not include the following: 

18 (i) INTERSTATE HORSERACING.—A 

19 bet or wager that is permissible under the 

20 Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978 (15 

21 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.). 

22 (ii) CERTAIN INTRASTATE TRANS23 ACTIONS.—Placing, receiving, or otherwise 

24 transmitting a bet or wager— 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (I) as described in subparagraph 

2 (B) of section 5362(10) of title 31, 

3 United States Code, and clarified by 

4 subparagraph (E) of such section; and 

5 (II) authorized under a license 

6 that was issued by a regulatory body 

7 of a State or federally recognized In8 dian tribe on or before the date of en9 actment of this Act. 

10 (iii) INTRASTATE LOTTERY TRANS11 ACTIONS.—A bet or wager that is— 

12 (I) a chance or opportunity to 

13 win a lottery or other prize (which op14 portunity to win is predominantly sub15 ject to chance) authorized by a State 

16 or federally recognized Indian tribe; 

17 and 

18 (II) a placing, receiving, or trans19 mitting of a bet or wager as described 

20 in such subparagraph (B) and clari21 fied by subparagraph (E) of such sec22 tion 5362(10). 

23 (iv) INTRATRIBAL TRANSACTIONS.— 

24 Placing, receiving, or otherwise transmit25 ting a bet or wager as described in subVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 30, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2888.IH H2888

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 2888 IH

1 paragraph (C) of such section 5362(10), as 

2 clarified by such subparagraph (E). 

3 (3) CASINO GAMING.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

5 subparagraph (B), the term ‘‘casino gaming’’ 

6 means the full range of casino gaming activity 

7 licensed by regulatory bodies of States or feder8 ally recognized Indian tribes that would be 

9 qualified as class III gaming under section 4 of 

10 the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 

11 2703), if that Act were applicable to the gam12 ing. 

13 (B) EXCEPTION.—The term ‘‘casino gam14 ing’’ does not include lotteries of States or fed15 erally recognized Indian tribes. 

16 (4) CASINO GAMING FACILITY.—The term ‘‘ca17 sino gaming facility’’ means a facility that provides 

18 casino gaming on a riverboat, at a race track, or in 

19 another facility that hosts gaming devices in one 

20 physical location pursuant to a duly authorized li21 cense issued by a gaming regulatory authority of a 

22 State or Indian tribe and has not fewer than 500 

23 slot machines. 

24 (5) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

25 means the National Indian Gaming Commission. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (6) GAMING DEVICE.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

3 subparagraph (B), the term ‘‘gaming device’’ 

4 means any computer-based gambling machine, 

5 including slot machines and video lottery termi6 nals that have been approved by a gaming regu7 latory authority of a State or federally recog8 nized Indian tribe. 

9 (B) EXCEPTIONS.—The term ‘‘gaming de10 vice’’ does not include— 

11 (i) machines that process bets or wa12 gers for parimutuel betting pools or class 

13 II gaming devices qualified under section 4 

14 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 

15 U.S.C. 2703); or 

16 (ii) a personal computer. 

17 (7) INDEPENDENT TESTING LABORATORY.— 

18 The term ‘‘independent testing laboratory’’ means a 

19 testing laboratory that is accredited by an inter20 national accreditation body approved by the Sec21 retary and is not owned or controlled by an Internet 

22 gaming facility, an electronic gambling equipment 

23 vendor, manufacturer, or retailer, or an Internet 

24 gambling operator. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (8) INDIAN LANDS AND FEDERALLY RECOG2 NIZED INDIAN TRIBE.—The terms ‘‘Indian lands’’ 

3 and ‘‘federally recognized Indian tribe’’ have the 

4 meanings given the terms ‘‘Indian lands’’ and ‘‘In5 dian tribes’’, respectively, in section 4 of the Indian 

6 Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2703). 

7 (9) INTERNET.—The term ‘‘Internet’’ has the 

8 meaning given the term in section 5362 of title 31, 

9 United States Code. 

10 (10) INTERNET POKER.—The term ‘‘Internet 

11 poker’’ means a poker game, hand, tournament, or 

12 other contest of poker offered through the use of an 

13 Internet poker facility. 

14 (11) INTERNET POKER FACILITY.—The term 

15 ‘‘Internet poker facility’’ means an Internet Web 

16 site, or similar communications facility in which 

17 transmissions may cross State boundaries, through 

18 which a bet or wager is initiated, received, or other19 wise made, solely with respect to a game, hand, 

20 tournament, or other contest of poker, whether 

21 transmitted by telephone, Internet, satellite, or other 

22 wire or wireless communication facility, service, or 

23 medium. 

24 (12) LICENSEE.—The term ‘‘licensee’’ means a 

25 person who operates an Internet poker facility under 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 2888 IH

1 a license issued by a qualified regulatory authority 

2 pursuant to this title. 

3 (13) OPERATE AN INTERNET POKER FACIL4 ITY.—The term ‘‘operate an Internet poker facility’’ 

5 means to conduct, direct, manage, own, supervise, or 

6 control an Internet poker facility. 

7 (14) POKER.—The term ‘‘poker’’ means any of 

8 several card games commonly known as poker in 

9 which players compete against each other, and not 

10 against any person, entity, or fellow player hosting 

11 the game (sometimes called ‘‘the house’’), the out12 come of which, over any significant interval, is pre13 dominantly determined by the skill of the players. 

14 (15) QUALIFIED REGULATORY AUTHORITY.— 

15 The term ‘‘qualified regulatory authority’’ means— 

16 (A) a State agency or regulatory body that 

17 has been designated as a qualified regulatory 

18 authority under section 103(c); 

19 (B) the designated regulatory authority of 

20 a federally recognized Indian tribe authorized to 

21 game under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 

22 and designated as a qualified regulatory author23 ity under section 103(c); or 

24 (C) the Office of Internet Poker Oversight 

25 established under section 103(b). 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (16) QUALIFIED CARD ROOM.—The term 

2 ‘‘qualified card room’’ means a facility that has been 

3 licensed by a State or federally recognized Indian 

4 tribe to provide at least 175 tables in one physical 

5 facility for bets or wagers on poker. 

6 (17) REMOTE GAMING EQUIPMENT.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

8 subparagraph (B), the term ‘‘remote gaming 

9 equipment’’ means electronic or other equip10 ment principally used by or on behalf of an op11 erator of an Internet poker facility, including by 

12 any significant vendor to such operator, to— 

13 (i) register a person’s participation in 

14 Internet poker and to store information re15 lating thereto; 

16 (ii) present to persons who are partici17 pating or who may participate in Internet 

18 poker the game that is to be played; 

19 (iii) determine all or part of, or the ef20 fect of, a result relevant to a game, hand, 

21 tournament, or other contest of Internet 

22 poker and to store information relating 

23 thereto; 

24 (iv) accept payment with respect to 

25 Internet poker from the player; or 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (v) authorize payment of any winnings 

2 in respect of Internet poker. 

3 (B) EXCEPTION.—The term ‘‘remote gam4 ing equipment’’ does not include the following: 

5 (i) Equipment used for business con6 tinuity, back-up, excess capacity, or other 

7 secondary use. 

8 (ii) A computer which is used by a 

9 person to participate in Internet poker un10 less the computer is provided by or on be11 half of the person who is conducting or 

12 providing the facilities for the game. 

13 (iii) Equipment operated in the ordi14 nary course of providing banking, tele15 communications, or payment processing 

16 services. 

17 (iv) Such other equipment that pro18 vides ancillary services as the Secretary 

19 considers appropriate. 

20 (18) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

21 means the Secretary of Commerce. 

22 (19) SIGNIFICANT VENDOR.—The term ‘‘signifi23 cant vendor’’ means a person who— 

24 (A) on behalf of a licensee, knowingly man25 ages, administers, or controls bets or wagers 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 2888 IH

1 that are initiated, received, or otherwise made 

2 within the United States; 

3 (B) on behalf of a licensee, knowingly 

4 manages, administers, or controls the games 

5 with which such bets or wagers are associated; 

6 (C) on behalf of a licensee, develops, main7 tains, or operates the software or other system 

8 programs or hardware on which the games or 

9 the bets or wagers are managed, administered, 

10 or controlled; 

11 (D) provides the trademarks, trade names, 

12 service marks, or similar intellectual property 

13 under which a licensee identifies its Internet 

14 poker facility to its customers in the United 

15 States; 

16 (E) sells, licenses, or otherwise receives 

17 compensation for selling or licensing informa18 tion via a database or customer list on individ19 uals in the United States selected in whole or 

20 in part because they made bets or wagers with 

21 an Internet poker facility not licensed either 

22 pursuant to this title or by a State or federally 

23 recognized Indian tribe as permitted under this 

24 title; 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (F) provides any products, services, or as2 sets to a licensee and is paid a percentage of 

3 gaming revenue or Internet poker commission 

4 fees by the licensee (not including fees to finan5 cial institutions and payment providers for fa6 cilitating a deposit by a customer); or 

7 (G) with respect to an applicant, proposes 

8 to provide any of the activities, services, or 

9 items identified in subparagraphs (A) through 

10 (E). 

11 (20) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

12 the several States of the United States, the District 

13 of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or 

14 possession of the United States. 

15 SEC. 102. PROHIBITION ON UNLICENSED INTERNET POKER. 

16 (a) PROHIBITION.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for a 

18 person to operate an Internet poker facility without 

19 a license in good standing issued to such person by 

20 a qualified regulatory authority under this title. 

21 (2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

22 apply to the operation of an Internet poker facility 

23 by a person located outside the United States in 

24 which bets or wagers are initiated, received, or othVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 30, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2888.IH H2888

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 2888 IH

1 erwise made by individuals located outside the 

2 United States. 

3 (b) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Any person who violates 

4 this section shall be fined under title 18, United States 

5 Code, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both. 

6 SEC. 103. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE QUALIFICATION 

7 AND OVERSIGHT OF QUALIFIED REGU8 LATORY AUTHORITIES. 

9 (a) COMMERCE RESPONSIBILITIES AND POWERS.— 

10 The Secretary, in the case of a State, and the Commission, 

11 in the case of a federally recognized Indian tribe, shall 

12 have responsibility and authority for the following activi13 ties: 

14 (1) Reviewing and qualifying regulatory au15 thorities to issue licenses under this title. 

16 (2) Exercising oversight over qualified regu17 latory authorities to ensure that such authorities— 

18 (A) comply with the requirements of this 

19 title; and 

20 (B) carry out their regulatory and enforce21 ment functions under this title with appropriate 

22 diligence. 

23 (3) Investigating and taking appropriate reme24 dial action with respect to any qualified regulatory 

25 authority. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (4) Prescribing such regulations as may be nec2 essary to administer and enforce the provisions of 

3 this title. 

4 (b) OFFICE OF INTERNET POKER OVERSIGHT.— 

5 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es6 tablish an office in the Department of Commerce to 

7 be known as the ‘‘Office of Internet Poker Over8 sight’’ (in this subsection referred to as the ‘‘office’’) 

9 to exercise the functions of the Secretary set out in 

10 this title. 

11 (2) DIRECTOR AND DELEGATION OF AUTHOR12 ITY.—The Secretary shall appoint a Director of the 

13 office from among individuals who have dem14 onstrated experience and expertise in regulating 

15 gaming activities and may delegate to the Director 

16 any authority, duty, or responsibility conferred upon 

17 the Secretary by this title. 

18 (c) DESIGNATION OF QUALIFIED REGULATORY AU19 THORITIES.— 

20 (1) QUALIFICATION OF REGULATORY AUTHORI21 TIES.—The Secretary, in the case of a State, or the 

22 Commission, in the case of a federally recognized In23 dian tribe, shall qualify any regulatory authority 

24 that is designated to the Secretary or the Commis25 sion by a State or federally recognized Indian tribe, 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 2888 IH

1 respectively, that wishes to participate in the licens2 ing program to carry out the licensing and other 

3 functions under this title if the Secretary, in the 

4 case of a State, or the Commission, in the case of 

5 a federally recognized Indian tribe, determines that 

6 such regulatory authority meets the minimum stand7 ards for qualification prescribed under paragraph 

8 (2). 

9 (2) MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR QUALIFIED REG10 ULATORY AUTHORITIES.—The Secretary, in con11 sultation with the Commission, shall prescribe min12 imum standards for qualifying a qualified regulatory 

13 authority under this subsection, including minimum 

14 standards— 

15 (A) relating to the size and qualification of 

16 staff of the regulatory authority to ensure a 

17 sufficient number of enforcement agents with 

18 experience in gaming regulatory enforcement 

19 areas to discharge its intended functions and 

20 that the applicant have the sophistication and 

21 resources necessary to evaluate issues unique to 

22 the Internet environment; 

23 (B) relating to the length of time the ap24 plicant has regulated other forms of gaming to 

25 ensure designations of only those applicants 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
18 

•HR 2888 IH

1 that have a history of demonstrated regulatory 

2 enforcement and oversight commensurate with 

3 the responsibilities imposed under this title; 

4 (C) for assessing the applicant’s experience 

5 and willingness to work with Federal authori6 ties, including the Financial Crimes Enforce7 ment Network; 

8 (D) prohibiting conflicts of interest to en9 sure that qualified regulatory authorities are 

10 not controlled, directly or indirectly, by persons 

11 that have any significant ownership interest in 

12 entities regulated under this title; 

13 (E) for the capacity and experience of a 

14 qualified regulatory authority in conducting rig15 orous suitability reviews; 

16 (F) for the enforcement and regulatory au17 thorities provided to the applicant under the 

18 law of the applicable State or federally recog19 nized Indian tribe, including investigative au20 thority, authority to impose requirements on li21 censees, and authority to impose civil or other 

22 penalties; and 

23 (G) the Secretary, in consultation with the 

24 Commission considers relevant to the ability of 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
19 

•HR 2888 IH

1 a regulatory authority to serve as an effective 

2 qualified regulatory authority. 

3 (3) WITHDRAWAL OF QUALIFICATION.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date 

5 that is 1 year after the date on which the Sec6 retary prescribes final regulations under this 

7 title, the Secretary, in the case of a State, or 

8 the Commission, in the case of a federally rec9 ognized Indian tribe, may, after providing 60 

10 days notice to a qualified regulatory authority, 

11 withdraw the qualification of such regulatory 

12 authority under this section if the Secretary or 

13 Commission, respectively, determines that the 

14 regulatory authority is not in compliance with 

15 the minimum standards established under para16 graph (2) or other requirements of this title. 

17 (B) OPPORTUNITY TO COMPLY.—The Sec18 retary, in the case of a State, or the Commis19 sion, in the case of a federally recognized In20 dian tribe, may provide a qualified regulatory 

21 authority who receives notice under subpara22 graph (A) with an opportunity to come into 

23 compliance for a period of not more than 180 

24 days. The Secretary, in the case of a State, or 

25 the Commission, in the case of a federally recVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 30, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2888.IH H2888

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
20 

•HR 2888 IH

1 ognized Indian tribe, may extend such period by 

2 not more than 180 additional days if the quali3 fied regulatory authority has made substantial 

4 progress toward compliance as of the expiration 

5 of the first 180-day period. 

6 (C) EFFECT OF NOTICE.—A qualified reg7 ulatory authority that receives notice under 

8 subparagraph (A) may not issue any new li9 censes under this title until the Secretary, in 

10 the case of a State, or the Commission, in the 

11 case of a federally recognized Indian tribe, de12 termines that the qualified regulatory authority 

13 is in compliance with the requirements of this 

14 title and regulations prescribed thereunder. 

15 (D) RIGHT TO APPEAL.—A qualified regu16 latory authority that has had its qualification 

17 withdrawn under this paragraph may appeal to 

18 the United States District Court for the Dis19 trict of Columbia that such withdrawal was an 

20 abuse of discretion. 

21 (4) ACTION UPON WITHDRAWAL OF QUALIFICA22 TION.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

24 subparagraph (B), not later than 30 days after 

25 the date on which the Secretary, in the case of 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
21 

•HR 2888 IH

1 a State, or the Commission, in the case of a 

2 federally recognized Indian tribe, withdraws the 

3 qualification of a qualified regulatory authority 

4 under paragraph (3), each person with a license 

5 issued by the qualified regulatory authority 

6 shall— 

7 (i)(I) cease offering, accepting, and 

8 providing services with respect to bets or 

9 wagers from persons located in the United 

10 States under such license; and 

11 (II) return all customer deposits or 

12 place those sums the return of which to 

13 United States customers is not feasible due 

14 to change in customer address, bank de15 tails, or similar difficulty, in escrow in an 

16 account with a financial institution in the 

17 United States for safekeeping and orderly 

18 disposition by the Secretary; or 

19 (ii) apply for a new license from a dif20 ferent qualified regulatory authority. 

21 (B) INTERIM OPERATION.—If a person ap22 plies for a new license under clause (ii) of sub23 paragraph (A), the person need not cease offer24 ing, accepting, and providing services in accord25 ance with clause (i)(I) of such subparagraph 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
22 

•HR 2888 IH

1 until final action is taken on the license applica2 tion by the qualified regulatory authority. 

3 (C) INTERIM REGULATORY OVERSIGHT.— 

4 Until final action is taken under subparagraph 

5 (B) with respect to a person, the Secretary, in 

6 the case of a State, or the Commission, in the 

7 case of a federally recognized Indian tribe, shall 

8 have enforcement and regulatory authority over 

9 the licensed activities of such person. 

10 (d) OVERSIGHT OF QUALIFIED REGULATORY AU11 THORITIES.—The Secretary, in the case of a State, or the 

12 Commission, in the case of a federally recognized Indian 

13 tribe, may investigate and take such action as the Sec14 retary or Commission, as applicable, considers appropriate 

15 with respect to any qualified regulatory authority that ap16 pears, based upon the Secretary’s or Commission’s own 

17 inquiry or based upon credible information provided by 

18 other persons, including licensees or law enforcement offi19 cials, to be deficient or substantially less rigorous than 

20 other qualified regulatory authorities in the discharge of 

21 its responsibilities under this title. 

22 (e) CONSULTATION WITH FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED

23 INDIAN TRIBES.—In implementing this title, the Sec24 retary and the Commission shall conduct meaningful con25 sultation with federally recognized Indian tribes regarding 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
23 

•HR 2888 IH

1 all aspects of this title which affect federally recognized 

2 Indian tribes. 

3 SEC. 104. LICENSING BY QUALIFIED REGULATORY AU4 THORITIES. 

5 (a) INTERNET POKER FACILITY LICENSING PRO6 GRAM.— 

7 (1) AUTHORITY TO OPERATE INTERNET POKER

8 FACILITY UNDER VALID LICENSE.—Notwithstanding 

9 any other provision of law and subject to the provi10 sions of this title, a licensee may accept a bet or 

11 wager with respect to Internet poker from an indi12 vidual located in the United States and may offer re13 lated services so long as the license of the licensee 

14 issued under this title remains in good standing. 

15 (2) SIGNIFICANT VENDORS.—If a person seeks 

16 a certificate of suitability from a qualified regulatory 

17 authority to provide services to a licensee or appli18 cant as a significant vendor with respect to an Inter19 net poker facility, such person shall not be required 

20 to obtain a license under this title to provide such 

21 services with respect to that Internet poker facility. 

22 (3) PROHIBITIONS IMPOSED BY STATES OR

23 FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED INDIAN TRIBES.— 

24 (A) ACTION BY A STATE.—No licensee 

25 may engage, under any license issued under 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
24 

•HR 2888 IH

1 this title, in the operation of an Internet poker 

2 facility that knowingly accepts bets or wagers 

3 initiated by persons who reside in any State 

4 which provides notice that it will prohibit such 

5 bets or wagers, if the Governor or other chief 

6 executive officer of such State informs the Sec7 retary of such prohibition in a letter that identi8 fies the nature and extent of such prohibition. 

9 (B) CHANGES TO STATE PROHIBITIONS.— 

10 The establishment, repeal, or amendment by a 

11 State of any prohibition described in subpara12 graph (A) shall apply, for purposes of this title, 

13 beginning on the day that occurs after the end 

14 of the 60-day period beginning on the later of— 

15 (i) the date a notice of such establish16 ment, repeal, or amendment is provided by 

17 the Governor or other chief executive offi18 cer of such State in writing to the Sec19 retary; or 

20 (ii) the effective date of such estab21 lishment, repeal, or amendment. 

22 (C) APPLICATION OF STATE ACTION TO

23 TRIBAL LANDS OF FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED IN24 DIAN TRIBES.—Any State prohibition described 

25 in subparagraph (A) shall not apply to the acVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 30, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2888.IH H2888

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
25 

•HR 2888 IH

1 ceptance by a licensee of bets or wagers from 

2 persons located within the tribal lands of a fed3 erally recognized Indian tribe that— 

4 (i) has itself not opted out pursuant 

5 to subsection (b); or 

6 (ii) would be entitled pursuant to 

7 other applicable law to permit such bets or 

8 wagers to be initiated and received within 

9 its territory without use of the Internet. 

10 (D) ACTIONS BY A FEDERALLY RECOG11 NIZED INDIAN TRIBE.—No Internet poker li12 censee knowingly may accept a bet or wager 

13 from a person located in the tribal lands of any 

14 federally recognized Indian tribe which pro15 hibits such activities or other contests if the 

16 principal chief or other chief executive officer of 

17 such federally recognized Indian tribe informs 

18 the Secretary of such prohibition in a letter 

19 that identifies the nature and extent of such 

20 prohibition. 

21 (E) CHANGES TO STATE AND FEDERALLY

22 RECOGNIZED INDIAN TRIBE PROHIBITIONS.— 

23 The establishment, repeal, or amendment by 

24 any federally recognized Indian tribe of any 

25 prohibition referred to in subparagraph (D) 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
26 

•HR 2888 IH

1 shall apply, for purposes of this title, beginning 

2 on the day that occurs after the end of the 60- 

3 day period beginning on the later of— 

4 (i) the date a notice of such establish5 ment, repeal, or amendment is provided by 

6 the principal chief or other chief executive 

7 officer of such federally recognized Indian 

8 tribe in writing to the Secretary; or 

9 (ii) the effective date of such estab10 lishment, repeal, or amendment. 

11 (F) NOTIFICATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF

12 STATE AND TRIBE PROHIBITIONS.— 

13 (i) NOTIFICATION AND MEASURES TO

14 ENSURE COMPLIANCE.—The Secretary 

15 shall notify all licensees and applicants of 

16 all States and federally recognized Indian 

17 tribes that have provided notice pursuant 

18 to subparagraph (A) or (D), as the case 

19 may be, promptly upon receipt of such no20 tice and in no event fewer than 30 days be21 fore the effective date of such notice. The 

22 Secretary shall take effective measures to 

23 ensure that any licensee under this sub24 chapter, as a condition of the license, com25 plies with any limitation or prohibition imVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 30, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2888.IH H2888

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
27 

•HR 2888 IH

1 posed by any State or federally recognized 

2 Indian tribe to which the licensee is sub3 ject. 

4 (ii) VIOLATIONS.—A violation of sub5 paragraph (A) or (D) shall be a violation 

6 of this title enforceable under section 105. 

7 (b) APPLICATION FOR LICENSE.— 

8 (1) APPLICATION.—A person seeking to operate 

9 an Internet poker facility under this title shall sub10 mit to the qualified regulatory authority of the State 

11 or federally recognized Indian tribe where servers for 

12 such Internet poker facility are located or will be lo13 cated an application for a license at such time, in 

14 such form, and in such manner as the qualified reg15 ulatory authority considers appropriate, including at 

16 a minimum the following: 

17 (A) Complete financial information about 

18 the applicant. 

19 (B) Documentation showing the organiza20 tion of the applicant and all related businesses 

21 and affiliates. 

22 (C) The criminal and financial history of— 

23 (i) the applicant; 

24 (ii) each of the senior executives and 

25 directors of the applicant; 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
28 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (iii) any other person who is in control 

2 of the applicant; and 

3 (iv) such other persons as the quali4 fied regulatory authority considers appro5 priate. 

6 (D) Such other information as may be nec7 essary for the suitability analysis required 

8 under subsection (c). 

9 (E) Disclosure of all other applications for 

10 licenses previously or simultaneously submitted 

11 under this paragraph to other qualified regu12 latory authorities and whether those applica13 tions are pending, were granted, or were denied. 

14 (F) A detailed description of the appli15 cant’s plan for complying with all applicable re16 quirements and regulations prescribed pursuant 

17 to this title. 

18 (G) A certification by the applicant that 

19 the applicant agrees to be subject to— 

20 (i) jurisdiction in Federal courts and 

21 in the courts of the State or federally rec22 ognized Indian tribe of the qualified regu23 latory authority to which the applicant has 

24 applied; and 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
29 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (ii) all applicable provisions of Federal 

2 law. 

3 (2) NOTICE TO THE SECRETARY.—Each quali4 fied regulatory authority shall report all applicants 

5 for licensure and the dispositions of their applica6 tions to the Secretary promptly upon disposition of 

7 each application or in such intervals as the Secretary 

8 may prescribe. Such report shall include such infor9 mation or documentation as the Secretary may re10 quire. 

11 (c) STANDARDS FOR LICENSE ISSUANCE; SUIT12 ABILITY QUALIFICATIONS AND DISQUALIFICATION

13 STANDARDS.— 

14 (1) SUITABILITY FOR LICENSING.—No appli15 cant shall be eligible to obtain a license under this 

16 title unless a qualified regulatory authority, with 

17 whom the applicant has filed an application for a li18 cense, has determined, upon completion of a back19 ground check and investigation, that the applicant, 

20 any person deemed to be in control of the applicant, 

21 all significant vendors of the applicant, and any 

22 other person determined by the qualified regulatory 

23 authority as having significant influence on the ap24 plicant are suitable for licensing or for receiving a 

25 certificate of suitability as applicable. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
30 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (2) INVESTIGATION.— 

2 (A) DETERMINATION OF SUITABILITY.— 

3 Prior to issuing a license under this section, a 

4 qualified regulatory authority shall conduct the 

5 investigation and analysis described in para6 graph (1) to determine whether the applicant or 

7 person— 

8 (i) is a person of good character, hon9 esty, and integrity; 

10 (ii) is a person whose prior activities, 

11 criminal record, if any, reputation, habits, 

12 and associations do not— 

13 (I) pose a threat to the public in14 terest or to the effective regulation 

15 and control of Internet poker facili16 ties; or 

17 (II) create or enhance the dan18 gers of unsuitable, unfair, or illegal 

19 practices, methods, and activities in 

20 the conduct of Internet poker facilities 

21 or the carrying on of the business and 

22 financial arrangements incidental to 

23 such facilities; 

24 (iii) is capable of and likely to conduct 

25 the activities for which the applicant is liVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 30, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2888.IH H2888

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
31 

•HR 2888 IH

1 censed or receives a certificate of suit2 ability in accordance with the provisions of 

3 this title, any regulations prescribed under 

4 this title, and all other applicable laws; 

5 (iv) with respect to applicants, has or 

6 guarantees acquisition of adequate busi7 ness competence and experience in the op8 eration of casino gaming facilities or Inter9 net poker facilities; 

10 (v) with respect to applicants, has or 

11 will obtain sufficient financing for the na12 ture of the proposed operation and from a 

13 source that the qualified regulatory author14 ity has not found unsuitable under the cri15 teria established under subparagraph (B); 

16 and 

17 (vi) has disclosed to the qualified reg18 ulatory authority all known affiliations or 

19 relationships, whether direct or indirect. 

20 (B) UNSUITABLE.—An applicant or any 

21 other person may not be determined to be suit22 able under this subsection if the applicant or 

23 such person— 

24 (i) has failed to provide information 

25 and documentation material to a deterVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 30, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2888.IH H2888

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
32 

•HR 2888 IH

1 mination of suitability for licensing under 

2 paragraph (1); 

3 (ii) has supplied information which is 

4 untrue or misleading as to a material fact 

5 pertaining to any such determination; 

6 (iii) has been convicted of an offense 

7 that is punishable by imprisonment of 

8 more than 1 year; 

9 (iv) is delinquent in the payment of 

10 any applicable Federal or State tax, tax 

11 penalty, addition to tax, or interest owed 

12 to a jurisdiction in which the applicant or 

13 person operates or does business, unless 

14 such payment has been extended or is the 

15 subject of a pending judicial or administra16 tive dispute; 

17 (v) has not certified in writing that 

18 the person submits to personal jurisdiction 

19 in the United States; or 

20 (vi) fails to comply with such other 

21 standard as the applicable qualified regu22 latory authority considers appropriate. 

23 (C) INELIGIBILITY DUE TO PRIOR ENGAGE24 MENT IN UNLAWFUL INTERNET POKER.— 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
33 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (i) No applicant nor any other person 

2 may be eligible for a license or certificate 

3 of suitability under this section if such ap4 plicant or person has been convicted of ac5 cepting bets or wagers from any other per6 son through an Internet poker facility in 

7 felony violation of Federal or State law. 

8 The ineligibility of an applicant or other 

9 person under this subparagraph shall ter10 minate on the date that is 5 years after 

11 the date on which the first license is issued 

12 under this section. 

13 (ii) No applicant or person who has 

14 purchased the assets of a person described 

15 in clause (i) subsequent to the enactment 

16 of this Act shall be eligible for a license or 

17 certificate of suitability under this section 

18 until the date that is 5 years after the date 

19 on which the first license is issued. 

20 (3) ONGOING REQUIREMENT.—A licensee (and 

21 any other person who is required to be determined 

22 to be suitable for licensing in connection with such 

23 licensee) shall meet the standards necessary to be 

24 suitable for licensing or to receive a certificate of 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
34 

•HR 2888 IH

1 suitability, as the case may be, throughout the term 

2 of the license. 

3 (4) CERTIFICATE OF SUITABILITY FOR SIGNIFI4 CANT VENDORS.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—If a qualifying body de6 termines under paragraph (1) that a significant 

7 vendor of an applicant is suitable under such 

8 paragraph, the qualifying body shall issue a cer9 tificate to such vendor that certifies the suit10 ability of such vendor. 

11 (B) REVOCATION OF CERTIFICATE.—A 

12 qualified regulatory authority that issues a cer13 tificate to a significant vendor under subpara14 graph (A) shall revoke the certificate if at any 

15 time the significant vendor no longer meets the 

16 standards necessary for a determination of suit17 ability. 

18 (C) CERTIFICATES ISSUED BY OTHER

19 QUALIFIED REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—A quali20 fied regulatory authority may, but need not, ac21 cept a certificate issued to a significant vendor 

22 by another qualified regulatory authority as evi23 dence of the suitability of the significant ven24 dor. 

25 (5) OTHER VENDORS.— 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
35 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (A) NOTICE.—A licensee shall promptly 

2 notify the qualified regulatory authority that 

3 issued the license to the licensee of all persons 

4 that are not significant vendors that— 

5 (i) direct, provide, or solicit customers 

6 to or for the licensee’s Internet poker facil7 ity, or materially assist in any of those 

8 tasks, in return for a commission or other 

9 fee; 

10 (ii) hold themselves out to the public 

11 as offering bets or wagers on licensee’s be12 half; 

13 (iii) offer bets or wagers under their 

14 own names or brands but using and rely15 ing on licensee’s Internet poker facilities; 

16 (iv) license trademarks, trade names, 

17 service marks, or other similar intellectual 

18 property to the licensee; or 

19 (v) own a substantial interest in or 

20 control a person described in clause (i), 

21 (ii), (iii), or (iv). 

22 (B) SUITABILITY OF OTHER VENDORS AND

23 PERSONS.—A qualified regulatory authority 

24 that reviews an application of an applicant for 

25 a license or issues a license to a licensee may, 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
36 

•HR 2888 IH

1 at the sole discretion of the qualified regulatory 

2 authority and on a case-by-case basis, require 

3 as a condition of such license that a person 

4 meet suitability requirements under paragraph 

5 (1) if the person— 

6 (i) is described in subparagraph (A) 

7 with respect to the applicant or licensee; 

8 (ii) provides services to an applicant 

9 or licensee and the qualified regulatory au10 thority determines that with respect to 

11 such services, there is a substantial risk of 

12 circumvention of the suitability require13 ments applicable to significant vendors; or 

14 (iii) is associated with the applicant or 

15 licensee or one of the significant vendors of 

16 the applicant or licensee and the qualified 

17 regulatory authority determines such per18 son may pose a threat to the integrity of 

19 Internet poker facilities operated by the 

20 applicant or licensee. 

21 (C) INFORMATION.—A qualified regulatory 

22 authority may require such information from an 

23 applicant, licensee, significant vendor or other 

24 person identified in this paragraph as the qualiVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 30, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2888.IH H2888

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
37 

•HR 2888 IH

1 fied regulatory authority considers necessary to 

2 carry out this paragraph. 

3 (6) ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary or the 

5 qualified regulatory authority that issued a li6 cense to a licensee finds that the licensee, or 

7 any other person that is subject to a required 

8 determination of suitability in connection with 

9 such licensee, fails to meet the suitability re10 quirements of this subsection at any time dur11 ing the tenure of the license, the Secretary or 

12 the qualified regulatory authority may take ac13 tion to protect the public interest, including, if 

14 the Secretary or qualified regulatory authority 

15 considers necessary, the suspension or termi16 nation of the license. 

17 (B) IMPOSITION OF CONDITIONS INCLUD18 ING REMOVAL OF PARTIES.—Notwithstanding a 

19 determination under subparagraph (A), the 

20 Secretary or the qualified regulatory authority 

21 that issued a license to a licensee may allow the 

22 licensee to continue engaging in licensed activi23 ties by imposing conditions on the person to 

24 which subparagraph (A) is applicable under 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
38 

•HR 2888 IH

1 penalty of revocation or suspension of a license 

2 or certificate of suitability, including— 

3 (i) the identification of any person de4 termined to be unsuitable; and 

5 (ii) the establishment of appropriate 

6 safeguards to ensure such person is ex7 cluded from any management or involve8 ment in operation of the licensed activities. 

9 (7) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.— 

10 (A) BACKGROUND CHECK AND INVESTIGA11 TION.—Each qualified regulatory authority 

12 shall establish standards and procedures for 

13 conducting background checks and investiga14 tions for purposes of this subsection. 

15 (B) PRIVILEGE.—Any written or oral 

16 statement made in the course of an official pro17 ceeding of the Secretary or a qualified regu18 latory authority, by any member thereof, or any 

19 witness testifying under oath which is relevant 

20 to the purpose of the proceeding and relates to 

21 the review of an application for a license under 

22 this title, is privileged and shall not give rise to 

23 liability for defamation or relief in any civil ac24 tion. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
39 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (C) ADDITIONAL PRIVILEGE.—Notwith2 standing section 552 of title 5, United States 

3 Code, or any other Federal, State, or tribal law 

4 to the contrary, any communication or docu5 ment of an applicant, licensee, significant ven6 dor, or affiliate thereof, which is made or trans7 mitted pursuant to this title to the Secretary or 

8 a qualified regulatory authority or any of their 

9 agents or employees, except information that is 

10 already public, shall be privileged and shall not 

11 be disclosed by the Secretary or the qualified 

12 regulatory authority without the prior written 

13 consent of the applicant, licensee, significant 

14 vendor, or affiliate thereof (as applicable), or 

15 pursuant to a lawful court order, grand jury 

16 subpoena, or similar procedure. To the extent 

17 practicable, the Secretary or qualified regu18 latory authority shall provide timely notice of 

19 the proceedings to the applicant, licensee, sig20 nificant vendor, or affiliate thereof (as applica21 ble). 

22 (D) PRESERVATION OF PRIVILEGE RECOG23 NIZED UNDER OTHER PROVISIONS OF LAW.— 

24 Any privilege recognized under any other appli25 cable provision of Federal, State, or tribal law, 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
40 

•HR 2888 IH

1 including attorney-client, physician-patient, and 

2 accountant-client privileges, shall not be waived 

3 or lost because a document or communication 

4 otherwise protected by the privilege is disclosed 

5 to the Secretary or a qualified regulatory au6 thority. 

7 (E) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Any communica8 tion or document, except information that is al9 ready public, shall be treated as confidential 

10 and may not be disclosed, in whole or part, by 

11 the Secretary or a qualified regulatory authority 

12 without a lawful court order or as otherwise ex13 pressly required by law, if the communication 

14 or document is— 

15 (i) required by the Secretary or quali16 fied regulatory authority to be disclosed by 

17 the applicant, licensee, or significant ven18 dor, including applications, financial or 

19 earnings information, and criminal records, 

20 whether of the applicant or licensee or of 

21 any affiliate, employee, officer, director, or 

22 significant vendor thereof, or of any other 

23 third party; or 

24 (ii) prepared or obtained by an agent 

25 or employee of the Secretary or qualified 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
41 

•HR 2888 IH

1 regulatory authority that contains informa2 tion described in clause (i). 

3 (d) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR A LICENSE.— 

4 In order to obtain a license under this section, an Internet 

5 poker facility shall demonstrate to the qualified regulatory 

6 authority that such facility maintains appropriate safe7 guards and mechanisms, in accordance with standards es8 tablished by the qualified regulatory authority, including 

9 appropriate safeguards and mechanism to— 

10 (1) ensure, to a reasonable degree of certainty, 

11 that the individual placing a bet or wager is not less 

12 than 21 years of age; 

13 (2) ensure, to a reasonable degree of certainty, 

14 that the individual placing a bet or wager is phys15 ically located in a jurisdiction that has not prohib16 ited such bets or wagers at the time the bet or 

17 wager is placed; 

18 (3) ensure, to a reasonable degree of certainty, 

19 that all taxes relating to Internet poker from per20 sons engaged in bets or wagers relating to such 

21 Internet poker are collected or reported, as required 

22 by law, at the time of any payment of proceeds of 

23 such bets or wagers; 

24 (4) ensure that all taxes relating to the oper25 ation of an Internet poker facility from any licensee 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
42 

•HR 2888 IH

1 are collected and disbursed as required by law and 

2 that adequate records to enable later audit or 

3 verification are maintained; 

4 (5) prevent, to a reasonable degree of certainty, 

5 fraud, money laundering, and terrorist financing; 

6 (6) ensure, to a reasonable degree of certainty, 

7 compliance with the requirements of section 106; 

8 (7) protect, to a reasonable degree of certainty, 

9 the privacy and online security of any person en10 gaged in bets or wagers with the licensee’s Internet 

11 poker facility; 

12 (8) ensure that any user fee required under 

13 subsection (e) is paid to the qualified regulatory au14 thority; 

15 (9) ensure, to a reasonable degree of certainty, 

16 that Internet poker games are fair and honest, and 

17 to prevent, to a reasonable degree of certainty, 

18 cheating, including collusion, and use of cheating de19 vices, including use of software programs (sometimes 

20 referred to as ‘‘bots’’) that make bets or wagers ac21 cording to algorithms; and 

22 (10) such other mechanisms and safeguards as 

23 the qualified regulatory authority shall require, in24 cluding independent testing of hardware, software, 

25 communication equipment, and other necessary deVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 30, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2888.IH H2888

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
43 

•HR 2888 IH

1 vices to ensure the integrity, accountability, random2 ness of play and security of the network. 

3 (e) FEES FOR ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.— 

4 (1) USER FEES.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The cost of admin6 istering this title with respect to each applicant, 

7 licensee, and significant vendor, including the 

8 cost of any review or examination of a licensee 

9 or its significant vendors to ensure compliance 

10 with the terms of the license and this title, shall 

11 be assessed by the qualified regulatory author12 ity receiving an application or issuing a license 

13 against the applicant, licensee, or significant 

14 vendor, as the case may be, by written notice in 

15 an amount that the qualified regulatory author16 ity determines is necessary to— 

17 (i) meet the qualified regulatory 

18 authority’s expenses in carrying out such 

19 administration, review, or examination; 

20 and 

21 (ii) to cover the qualified regulatory 

22 authority’s share of the amount deter23 mined by the Secretary under paragraph 

24 (3) to cover the expenses incurred by the 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
44 

•HR 2888 IH

1 Secretary in carrying out the provisions of 

2 this title. 

3 (B) EXPENSES FOR REVIEW OR EXAMINA4 TION.—Expenses that are attributable to review 

5 or examination of a particular applicant, li6 censee, or significant vendor shall be assessed 

7 under subparagraph (A) against that applicant, 

8 licensee, or significant vendor. 

9 (C) EXPENSES FOR GENERAL ADMINISTRA10 TION.—Expenses for general administration 

11 shall be assessed against all licensees equally. 

12 (D) DISPOSITION OF USER FEES.— 

13 Amounts assessed by a qualified regulatory au14 thority as user fees under this paragraph 

15 shall— 

16 (i) be remitted to the Secretary, in the 

17 amount of that State’s or federally recog18 nized Indian tribe’s share as determined 

19 under paragraph (3) for deposit in the 

20 Treasury in accordance with subparagraph 

21 (B) of such paragraph; and 

22 (ii)(I) be available to the qualified reg23 ulatory authority to cover expenses in24 curred by the qualified regulatory authorVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 30, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2888.IH H2888

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
45 

•HR 2888 IH

1 ity in carrying out the provisions of this 

2 title; and 

3 (II) not be construed to be Govern4 ment funds or appropriated monies, or 

5 subject to apportionment for the purposes 

6 of any other provision of law. 

7 (E) COLLECTION.— 

8 (i) REFERRAL.—If a licensee or sig9 nificant vendor fails to pay a user fee to a 

10 qualified regulatory authority under this 

11 paragraph after the assessment of the fee 

12 has become final— 

13 (I) the qualified regulatory au14 thority may recover the amount as15 sessed by action in any State or tribal 

16 court in the jurisdiction of the quali17 fied regulatory authority, or in any 

18 appropriate United States district 

19 court, along with any costs of collec20 tion and attorney fees; and 

21 (II) such failure may be grounds 

22 for denial of an application for a li23 cense under this title or revocation of 

24 a license or certificate of suitability 

25 under this title. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
46 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (ii) ASSESSMENT REVIEWABLE.—In 

2 any civil action under clause (i), a court 

3 may review the validity and adjust the 

4 amount of the user fees. 

5 (F) USER FEES OF SIGNIFICANT VENDORS

6 MAY BE PAID BY APPLICANTS AND LICENS7 EES.—A user fee assessed against a significant 

8 vendor may be paid by an applicant or licensee 

9 on behalf of the significant vendor. 

10 (2) DIRECT AND EXCLUSIVE OBLIGATION OF

11 LICENSEE.—With respect to a licensee, a user fee 

12 shall be the direct and exclusive obligation of the li13 censee and may not be deducted from amounts avail14 able as deposits to any person placing a bet or wager 

15 with the licensee. 

16 (3) USER FEES ESTABLISHED BY SEC17 RETARY.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall de19 termine the funding requirements necessary to 

20 meet the Secretary’s cost of administering this 

21 title and notify each qualified regulatory au22 thority of its proportional share to be collected 

23 by such regulatory authority under paragraph 

24 (1)(A). 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
47 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (B) DISPOSITION OF USER FEES.— 

2 Amounts remitted to the Secretary under para3 graph (1)(D)(i) shall— 

4 (i) be deposited into a separate ac5 count in the Treasury to be known as the 

6 ‘‘Internet Poker Oversight Fund’’; and 

7 (ii) be available to the Secretary in 

8 such amounts, subject to appropriations, to 

9 cover expenses incurred by the Secretary in 

10 carrying out the provisions of this title. 

11 (f) APPROVAL OF LICENSE.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—A qualified regulatory au13 thority may issue licenses under this title for the op14 eration of an Internet poker facility to any applicant 

15 that— 

16 (A) owns or controls a company that oper17 ates a casino gaming facility or qualified card 

18 room and owned or controlled such facility or 

19 card room on the date that is 10 days before 

20 the date of enactment of this Act; 

21 (B) for the duration of the 5-year period 

22 ending on the date on which the applicant sub23 mits an application under subsection (b)(1), 

24 owned or controlled a casino gaming facility or 

25 qualified card room; 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
48 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (C) is owned or controlled by a person 

2 who— 

3 (i) owns or controls a company that 

4 operates a casino gaming facility or quali5 fied card room and owned or controlled 

6 such facility or card room on the date that 

7 is 10 days before the date of enactment of 

8 this Act; or 

9 (ii) for the duration of the 5-year pe10 riod ending on the date on which the appli11 cant submits an application under sub12 section (b)(1), owned or controlled a casino 

13 gaming facility or qualified card room; 

14 (D) for the duration of the 5-year period 

15 ending on the date on which the applicant sub16 mits an application under subsection (b)(1), 

17 under license issued by a State or federally rec18 ognized Indian tribe manufactured and supplied 

19 to casino gaming facilities with not fewer than 

20 500 slot machines; and 

21 (E) meets other criteria established by the 

22 Secretary or by the qualified regulatory author23 ity under this title. 

24 (2) EXPANSION OF LICENSEES ONLY IF NO

25 RISK TO PUBLIC.—Beginning on the date that is 2 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
49 

•HR 2888 IH

1 years after the date of first issuance specified in sec2 tion 115(b), the Secretary may, by rule, authorize 

3 the issuance of licenses to applicants other than 

4 those described in paragraph (1) if the Secretary de5 termines, after providing the public with notice and 

6 an opportunity to comment, that such authorization 

7 will not significantly increase the risk that the 

8 standards described in subsection (d) will not be sat9 isfied by licensees. 

10 (3) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY TO REVOKE LI11 CENSES.—Notwithstanding any certificate of suit12 ability or license issued by a qualified regulatory au13 thority, the Secretary may suspend or revoke such 

14 certificate or license if the Secretary has reason to 

15 believe that the recipient does not meet the suit16 ability requirements established under subsection (c) 

17 or, as applicable, any other requirement imposed on 

18 a licensee under this title. The Secretary may not 

19 overturn a decision by a qualified regulatory author20 ity to deny or to terminate a license or to deny or 

21 revoke a certificate of suitability. 

22 (4) CONFLICTS BETWEEN QUALIFIED REGU23 LATORY AUTHORITIES.—If a qualified regulatory au24 thority denies a license, terminates a license, denies 

25 a certificate of suitability, or revokes a certificate of 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
50 

•HR 2888 IH

1 suitability to a person and within 12 months of such 

2 denial, termination, or revocation another qualified 

3 regulatory authority grants such person a license or 

4 certificate of suitability, the Secretary shall— 

5 (A) commence a review of such license or 

6 certificate of suitability; and 

7 (B) not later than 90 days after such com8 mencement, determine whether to act under 

9 paragraph (3). 

10 (5) CONTROL DEFINED.—In this subsection, 

11 the term ‘‘control’’ means, with respect to a person, 

12 the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to 

13 direct or influence the direction of the management 

14 or policies of the person, whether through the owner15 ship of voting securities, through a management, ex16 ecutive officer, or board position, by shareholders or 

17 similar agreement, or otherwise. 

18 (g) LOCATION OF REMOTE GAMING EQUIPMENT.— 

19 A licensee shall maintain its remote gaming equipment 

20 within the territory of the United States throughout the 

21 term of its license. A qualified regulatory authority shall 

22 require applicants that seek a license from such qualified 

23 regulatory authority to locate that equipment within the 

24 territory of the State or on the Indian land of the tribe 

25 of the qualified regulatory authority. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
51 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (h) LICENSE IS A PRIVILEGE NOT A RIGHT.—A deci2 sion by a qualified regulatory authority not to grant a per3 son a license or certificate of suitability, or to terminate 

4 a license, or revoke a certificate of suitability, is not re5 viewable under Federal law or the law of any jurisdiction 

6 other than the jurisdiction of the qualified regulatory au7 thority. The State or federally recognized Indian tribe of 

8 the jurisdiction of the qualified regulatory authority may, 

9 but need not, provide an opportunity to appeal. 

10 (i) TERM, RENEWAL, AND TRANSFER OF LICENSE.— 

11 (1) TERM.—Any license issued under this title 

12 shall be issued for a 5-year term beginning on the 

13 date of issuance. A license may be renewed in ac14 cordance with requirements prescribed by the quali15 fied regulatory authority that issued the license 

16 under this title. 

17 (2) TRANSFER.—A transfer of a license, change 

18 of control of a licensee, or change in significant ven19 dor shall require prior approval by the qualified reg20 ulatory authority that issued the license. The quali21 fied regulatory authority shall at a minimum ensure 

22 the suitability requirements of subsection (c) con23 tinue to be satisfied before approving any such 

24 transfer or change. 

25 (j) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.— 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
52 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (1) DETERMINATION OF INTERNET POKER.— 

2 (A) INITIAL DETERMINATION BY QUALI3 FIED REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—A determina4 tion of whether a game, hand, tournament, or 

5 other contest of a licensee is Internet poker 

6 shall be made in the first instance by the quali7 fied regulatory authority that issued the license 

8 to such licensee under this title. 

9 (B) CHALLENGES.— 

10 (i) CHALLENGE MADE WITH SEC11 RETARY.—A licensee or qualified regu12 latory authority may file a challenge with 

13 the Secretary regarding any determination 

14 of the qualified regulatory authority under 

15 subparagraph (A) that a game, hand, tour16 nament, or other contest of another li17 censee is Internet poker. 

18 (ii) DETERMINATION MADE BY SEC19 RETARY WITHIN 30 DAYS.—If a challenge 

20 is made under clause (i), the Secretary 

21 shall make a determination of whether the 

22 game, hand, tournament, or other contest 

23 is Internet poker not later than 30 days 

24 after the date on which the challenge is 

25 made. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
53 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (iii) OPERATION UNTIL DETERMINA2 TION.—A licensee that offers a game, 

3 hand, tournament, or other contest that is 

4 challenged under clause (i) may continue 

5 to offer such game, hand, tournament, or 

6 other contest until the Secretary makes a 

7 determination under clause (ii). 

8 (C) APPEALS.—Not later than 30 days 

9 after the date on which the Secretary makes a 

10 determination under subparagraph (B)(iii), a li11 censee or a qualified regulatory authority may 

12 appeal such determination to the United States 

13 District Court for the District of Columbia. 

14 Such court shall set aside the Secretary’s deter15 mination if the court determines that the Sec16 retary’s determination was— 

17 (i) arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of 

18 discretion, or otherwise not consistent with 

19 law; or 

20 (ii) without observance of procedure 

21 required by law. 

22 (2) CHALLENGES UNDER STATE OR FEDERALLY

23 RECOGNIZED INDIAN TRIBAL LAW.—Except as pro24 vided in paragraph (1) and unless otherwise specifi25 cally provided in this title, actions taken by a qualiVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 30, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00053 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2888.IH H2888

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
54 

•HR 2888 IH

1 fied regulatory authority may be challenged by appli2 cants and licensees only as permitted under the law 

3 of the State or federally recognized Indian tribe in 

4 which the qualified regulatory authority is located. 

5 (3) SUMMONS.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

7 issue a summons with respect to an applicant 

8 or licensee necessary to carry out the provisions 

9 of this title. 

10 (B) PRODUCTION AT DESIGNATED SITE.— 

11 A summons issued by the Secretary pursuant to 

12 this paragraph may require that books, papers, 

13 records, or other data stored or maintained at 

14 any place be produced at any— 

15 (i) business location of a licensee or 

16 applicant for a license; 

17 (ii) designated location in the State or 

18 Indian lands of the applicable qualified 

19 regulatory authority; or 

20 (iii) designated location in the District 

21 of Columbia. 

22 (C) NO LIABILITY FOR EXPENSES.—The 

23 Secretary shall not be liable for any expense in24 curred in connection with the production of 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
55 

•HR 2888 IH

1 books, papers, records, or other data under this 

2 paragraph. 

3 (D) SERVICE OF SUMMONS.—Service of a 

4 summons issued under this subsection may be 

5 by registered mail or in such other manner cal6 culated to give actual notice as determined by 

7 the Secretary. 

8 (E) AUTHORIZATION TO INVOKE AID OF

9 COURTS.—The Secretary may invoke the aid of 

10 any court of the United States to compel com11 pliance with the summons within the jurisdic12 tion of which— 

13 (i) the investigation which gave rise to 

14 the summons or the examination is being 

15 or has been carried on; 

16 (ii) the person summoned is an inhab17 itant; or 

18 (iii) the person summoned carries on 

19 business or may be found. 

20 (F) POWER OF COURTS TO COMPEL AP21 PEARANCE.—The court may issue an order re22 quiring the person summoned to appear before 

23 the Secretary— 

24 (i) to produce books, papers, records, 

25 and other data; 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
56 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (ii) to give testimony as may be nec2 essary to explain how such material was 

3 compiled and maintained; 

4 (iii) to allow the Secretary to examine 

5 the business of a licensee; and 

6 (iv) to pay the costs of the proceeding. 

7 (G) CONTUMACY OR REFUSAL.—Any fail8 ure to obey the order of the court under this 

9 paragraph may be punished by the court as a 

10 contempt thereof. All process in any case under 

11 this subsection may be served in any judicial 

12 district in which such person may be found. 

13 SEC. 105. ENFORCEMENT. 

14 (a) DISCIPLINARY ACTION.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—A licensee may be subject to 

16 disciplinary action, including suspension or revoca17 tion of its license, by a qualified regulatory authority 

18 that issued a license to the licensee or by the Sec19 retary if the licensee fails to comply with any provi20 sion of this title, any regulation prescribed there21 under, or any other applicable provision of State or 

22 tribal law. 

23 (2) INITIATING ENFORCEMENT.—Only the Sec24 retary or the qualified regulatory authority which 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
57 

•HR 2888 IH

1 granted the license may initiate disciplinary action 

2 under this title. 

3 (3) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this sub4 section shall be construed to prohibit a law enforce5 ment authority or regulatory body that has authority 

6 over a licensee or an affiliated person, independent 

7 from this title, from taking action under the law of 

8 that law enforcement authority or regulatory body. 

9 (4) DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—A qualified regulatory 

11 authority shall commence disciplinary action 

12 under this subsection against a licensee upon 

13 service of a formal written complaint upon the 

14 licensee, with a copy forwarded to the Sec15 retary, that sets forth the grounds for the dis16 ciplinary action and the proposed penalty that 

17 is being sought, which may include any or all 

18 of the imposition of a fine as provided pursuant 

19 to subsection (m)(1) or limitation, condition, 

20 suspension, or revocation of the license. 

21 (B) IN ACCORDANCE WITH LAW OF JURIS22 DICTION OF QUALIFIED REGULATORY AUTHOR23 ITY.—The disciplinary process shall proceed ac24 cording to the law of the jurisdiction of the ap25 plicable qualified regulatory authority. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
58 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (5) FINALITY OF ACTION AND APPEALS.— 

2 (A) FINALITY.—Any disciplinary action 

3 shall be treated as a final action. 

4 (B) ACTION BY QUALIFIED REGULATORY

5 AUTHORITIES.—A licensee aggrieved by discipli6 nary action by a qualified regulatory authority 

7 may file an appeal in the jurisdiction where the 

8 qualified regulatory authority taking such ac9 tion is located only to the extent permitted by 

10 the law of such jurisdiction. 

11 (C) ACTION BY SECRETARY.—A licensee 

12 aggrieved by disciplinary action by the Sec13 retary may file an appeal in the United States 

14 District Court for the District of Columbia. 

15 Such court shall set aside the action if it deter16 mines that the action was— 

17 (i) arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of 

18 discretion, or otherwise not consistent with 

19 law; or 

20 (ii) without observance of procedure 

21 required by law. 

22 (6) PENDING APPEAL.—During the period in 

23 which a suspension or revocation of an existing li24 cense is being challenged through a pending judicial 

25 proceeding, the court handling the challenge may 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
59 

•HR 2888 IH

1 allow the licensee to continue offering bets and wa2 gers in full compliance with the terms of its existing 

3 license and any other conditions the court considers 

4 necessary, if the court determines that— 

5 (A) the appellant has a reasonable likeli6 hood of success on the merits; and 

7 (B) allowing the appellant to continue of8 fering bets and wagers while the appeal is pend9 ing will not threaten the public interest. 

10 (7) RETURN OF CUSTOMER FUNDS.—If a li11 censee’s license is revoked and no appeal pursuant 

12 to paragraph (5) is pending, the licensee shall— 

13 (A) return all customer funds in an orderly 

14 manner not later than 30 days after the date 

15 of the revocation of the license; or 

16 (B) place in escrow those sums return of 

17 which to United States customers is not feasible 

18 due to change in customer address, bank de19 tails, or similar difficulty, in an account with a 

20 financial institution in the United States for 

21 safekeeping and orderly disposition by the Sec22 retary. 

23 (8) REFERRAL TO ATTORNEY GENERAL.—If, in 

24 the course of carrying out the provisions of this title, 

25 the Secretary or a qualified regulatory authority 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
60 

•HR 2888 IH

1 finds a substantial basis to believe that a person has 

2 violated section 103, the Secretary or qualified regu3 latory authority shall refer such matter to the Attor4 ney General. 

5 (b) CIVIL MONEY PENALTIES.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

7 (A) PENALTIES ASSESSED BY QUALIFIED

8 REGULATORY AUTHORITIES.—A qualified regu9 latory authority may assess upon any licensee 

10 or other person subject to the requirements of 

11 this title for each violation of this title or any 

12 regulation prescribed or order issued under this 

13 title, a civil penalty of not more than the great14 er of— 

15 (i) the amount involved in the viola16 tion, if any; 

17 (ii) $250,000 for an individual and 

18 $750,000 for a corporation; or 

19 (iii) such other amount as provided 

20 under the applicable State or tribal law of 

21 the qualified regulatory authority. 

22 (B) PENALTIES ASSESSED BY SEC23 RETARY.—The Secretary may assess upon any 

24 licensee or other person subject to the require25 ments of this title for each violation of this title 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
61 

•HR 2888 IH

1 or any regulation prescribed or order issued 

2 under this title, a civil penalty of not more than 

3 the greater of— 

4 (i) the amount involved in the viola5 tion, if any; or 

6 (ii) $250,000 for an individual and 

7 $750,000 for a corporation. 

8 (C) NOT CUMULATIVE.— 

9 (i) IN GENERAL.—The penalties au10 thorized under subparagraphs (A) and (B) 

11 shall not be cumulative and only one such 

12 penalty may be assessed per violation. 

13 (ii) CONSTRUCTION.—Clause (i) shall 

14 not be construed to limit the authority of 

15 a qualifying body or the Secretary, as the 

16 case may be, to pursue a civil penalty for 

17 each violation of a related series of viola18 tions. 

19 (D) FAILURE TO OBTAIN A LICENSE.— 

20 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 

21 Secretary may assess upon a person that is re22 quired to obtain a license under this title, but 

23 fails to obtain a license under this title, a civil 

24 penalty of not more than the greater of— 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
62 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (i) the amount of bets or wagers 

2 taken by the person from players in the 

3 United States during the period that a li4 cense was needed but not held by the per5 son; or 

6 (ii) $1,000,000 per day that the per7 son accepts bets or wagers from players in 

8 the United States during the period that a 

9 license was needed but not held by the per10 son. 

11 (E) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

12 paragraph shall be construed to affect the abil13 ity of a law enforcement official to seek crimi14 nal penalties against a person. 

15 (2) ASSESSMENT.— 

16 (A) ENFORCEMENT BY QUALIFIED REGU17 LATORY AUTHORITIES.—Qualified regulatory 

18 authorities and such other entities as are au19 thorized by applicable State and tribal law shall 

20 enforce the provisions of this title under the law 

21 of the applicable State or federally recognized 

22 Indian tribe, and penalties shall be determined, 

23 reviewable, collectable, and disposed of as pro24 vided under such law. 

25 (B) ENFORCEMENT BY SECRETARY.— 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
63 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (i) WRITTEN NOTICE.—Any penalty 

2 imposed under paragraph (1)(B) shall be 

3 assessed and collected by the Secretary by 

4 written notice. 

5 (ii) FINALITY OF ASSESSMENT.—If, 

6 with respect to any assessment under para7 graph (1)(B), a hearing is not requested 

8 pursuant to clause (v) within the period of 

9 time allowed under such clause, the assess10 ment shall constitute a final agency order. 

11 (iii) AUTHORITY TO MODIFY OR

12 REMIT PENALTY.—The Secretary may 

13 compromise, modify, or remit any penalty 

14 which the Secretary may assess or has al15 ready assessed under paragraph (1)(B). 

16 (iv) MITIGATING FACTORS.—In deter17 mining the amount of any penalty imposed 

18 under paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary 

19 shall take into account the appropriateness 

20 of the penalty with respect to the fol21 lowing: 

22 (I) The size of the financial re23 sources and the good faith of the per24 son against whom the penalty is as25 sessed. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
64 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (II) The gravity of the violation. 

2 (III) The history of previous vio3 lations. 

4 (IV) Such other matters as jus5 tice may require. 

6 (v) HEARING.—The person against 

7 whom any penalty is assessed under para8 graph (1)(B) shall be afforded an agency 

9 hearing if such person submits a request 

10 for such hearing not later than 20 days 

11 after the date of the issuance of the notice 

12 of assessment. 

13 (vi) COLLECTION.— 

14 (I) REFERRAL.—If any person 

15 fails to pay an assessment after any 

16 penalty assessed under this subpara17 graph has become final, the Secretary 

18 shall recover the amount assessed by 

19 action in the appropriate United 

20 States district court. 

21 (II) SCOPE OF REVIEW.—In any 

22 civil action under subclause (I), the 

23 validity and appropriateness of the 

24 penalty shall be subject to review for 

25 abuse of agency discretion. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
65 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (vii) DISBURSEMENT.—All penalties 

2 collected under authority of paragraph 

3 (1)(B) shall be deposited into the Treasury 

4 of the United States. 

5 (3) CONDITION FOR LICENSURE.—Payment by 

6 a licensee of any civil penalty assessed under this 

7 subsection that has become final shall be a require8 ment for the retention of its license. 

9 SEC. 106. COMPULSIVE GAMING, RESPONSIBLE GAMING, 

10 AND SELF-EXCLUSION PROGRAM REQUIRE11 MENTS. 

12 (a) REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—Each qualified regu13 latory authority shall, before issuing any licenses under 

14 this title, establish requirements for the development of 

15 a gambling addiction, responsible gaming, and self exclu16 sion program that each licensee of that qualified regu17 latory authority shall implement as a condition of licen18 sure. Such requirements shall also provide for the estab19 lishment of a program to alert the public to the existence, 

20 consequences, and availability of the self-exclusion list es21 tablished under subsection (c). 

22 (b) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—At a minimum, each 

23 qualified regulatory authority shall require that licens24 ees— 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
66 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (1) provide informational materials written in 

2 plain language about responsible gaming, including 

3 information about the self-exclusion list established 

4 under subsection (c) and how a player may request 

5 placement on the list, each time a player signs in to 

6 make a bet or wager, which materials shall be pro7 vided via a prominently displayed hyperlink or com8 parable mechanism; 

9 (2) provide informational materials about re10 sponsible gaming to any player that requests such 

11 materials; 

12 (3) make continuously available individualized 

13 responsible gaming options that any customer may 

14 choose, including allowing customers to self-limit 

15 their deposit, time and bet amounts, as well as self16 limit their access to the issuance of credit, check 

17 cashing, or direct mail marketing by the licensee, in 

18 each case as and to the extent that the qualified reg19 ulatory authority may consider appropriate; 

20 (4) ensure to a reasonable degree of certainty 

21 that persons on the list of self-excluded persons es22 tablished pursuant to subsection (c) are prevented 

23 from initiating any bets or wagers within the scope 

24 of this title; 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
67 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (5) ensure that the information required under 

2 this subsection is clearly and prominently made 

3 available by the licensee in each language in which 

4 services of the Internet poker facility of the licensee 

5 are offered; and 

6 (6) ensure that the qualified regulatory author7 ity adopt any practices that the Secretary rec8 ommends to protect consumers, taking into account 

9 the National Council on Problem Gambling Internet 

10 Responsible Gambling Standards. 

11 (c) LIST OF PERSONS SELF-EXCLUDED.— 

12 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

13 (A) LISTS MAINTAINED BY QUALIFIED

14 REGULATORY AUTHORITIES.—Each qualified 

15 regulatory authority shall establish and main16 tain a list of persons self-excluded from playing 

17 Internet poker through Internet poker facilities 

18 licensed by the qualified regulatory authority. 

19 Each week, each qualified regulatory authority 

20 shall submit to the Secretary a current copy of 

21 the list. 

22 (B) MASTER LIST MAINTAINED BY SEC23 RETARY.—The Secretary shall establish and 

24 maintain a master list of all persons self-ex25 cluded from playing Internet poker through 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
68 

•HR 2888 IH

1 Internet poker facilities licensed under this title. 

2 Such list shall consist of all persons submitted 

3 under subparagraph (A). The Secretary shall 

4 make the master list available to all qualified 

5 regulatory authorities and licensees. 

6 (C) PLACEMENT REQUEST.—Any person 

7 may request placement on the list of self-ex8 cluded persons by— 

9 (i) acknowledging in a manner to be 

10 established by each qualified regulatory au11 thority with respect to its licensees that 

12 the person wishes to be denied gaming 

13 privileges within the scope of this title; and 

14 (ii) agreeing that, during any period 

15 of voluntary exclusion, the person may not 

16 collect any winnings or recover any losses 

17 resulting from any gaming activity at any 

18 Internet poker facility of a licensee. 

19 (2) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

21 subparagraph (B), the United States, the Sec22 retary, a qualified regulatory authority, the 

23 State, or federally recognized Indian tribe in 

24 which that qualified regulatory authority is lo25 cated, an enforcement agent, licensee, or any 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
69 

•HR 2888 IH

1 employee or agent thereof, shall not be liable to 

2 any self-excluded person or to any other party 

3 in any judicial or administrative proceeding for 

4 any harm, monetary or otherwise, which may 

5 arise as a result of— 

6 (i) any failure to withhold gaming 

7 privileges from, or to restore gaming privi8 leges to, a self-excluded person; 

9 (ii) otherwise permitting a self-ex10 cluded person to engage in gaming activity 

11 while on the list of self-excluded persons; 

12 or 

13 (iii) disclosure of information about 

14 individuals placed on the list of self-ex15 cluded persons. 

16 (B) LICENSEES.—A licensee or employee 

17 or agent thereof may be liable to a self-excluded 

18 person in a judicial or administrative pro19 ceeding for a harm described in subparagraph 

20 (A) to the extent provided under the law of the 

21 State or federally recognized Indian tribe of the 

22 qualified regulatory authority that issued the li23 cense. 

24 (C) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

25 this paragraph shall be construed to prevent the 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
70 

•HR 2888 IH

1 Secretary or a qualified regulatory authority 

2 from assessing a regulatory sanction against a 

3 licensee or person for failing to comply with a 

4 provision of this section or a regulation pre5 scribed thereunder or for misuse of any list of 

6 self-excluded persons for purposes not author7 ized under this section. 

8 (3) DISCLOSURE PROVISIONS.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

10 other provision of Federal, State, or tribal law, 

11 the list of self-excluded persons shall not be 

12 open to public inspection. 

13 (B) AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE.—If necessary 

14 to effectuate the self-exclusion purposes of this 

15 subsection, any licensee may disclose the identi16 ties of persons on the self-excluded list to any 

17 significant vendor, service provider, or affiliated 

18 company to the extent that the significant ven19 dor, service provider, or affiliated company 

20 maintains such information under confiden21 tiality provisions comparable to those in this 

22 subsection. 

23 (d) GAMING BY PROHIBITED PERSONS.— 

24 (1) PROHIBITION ON BENEFITTING FROM PRO25 HIBITED GAMING ACTIVITY.—A person who is proVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 30, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00070 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2888.IH H2888

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
71 

•HR 2888 IH

1 hibited from gaming with a licensee by law, or by 

2 order of the Secretary, a qualified regulatory author3 ity, or any court of competent jurisdiction, including 

4 any person on the self-exclusion list under subsection 

5 (c), shall not collect, in any manner or proceeding, 

6 any winnings or recover any losses arising as a re7 sult of any prohibited gaming activity. 

8 (2) FORFEITURE.—In addition to any other 

9 penalty provided by law, any money or thing of value 

10 that has been obtained by, or is owed to, any prohib11 ited person by a licensee as a result of bets or wa12 gers made by a prohibited person after the applica13 ble prohibition has become effective shall be subject 

14 to forfeiture by order of the Secretary or a qualified 

15 regulatory authority, following notice to the prohib16 ited person and opportunity to be heard. 

17 (3) DEPOSIT OF FORFEITED FUNDS.—Any 

18 funds forfeited pursuant to this subsection shall be 

19 deposited into the Treasury of the United States, or, 

20 in the case of a forfeiture to a qualified regulatory 

21 authority, as provided by the applicable State or 

22 tribal law. 

23 (e) REQUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO CHILD SUP24 PORT DELINQUENTS.— 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
72 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—When it is made known to 

2 the Secretary or a qualified regulatory authority by 

3 a Federal or State court or a competent qualified 

4 regulatory authority involved with the administration 

5 or enforcement of a court-ordered child support pay6 ment that a particular individual is delinquent with 

7 respect to court-ordered child support payments, the 

8 Secretary shall include that individual on the list es9 tablished under subsection (c). 

10 (2) REMOVAL FROM LIST.—Individuals placed 

11 on the list pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be re12 moved from such list if the court or agency that 

13 made such individual’s delinquency known to the 

14 Secretary notifies the Secretary that such individual 

15 is no longer delinquent. 

16 (f) AUTHORITY TO ADDRESS GAMBLING ADDICTION

17 IN SAMHSA AUTHORITIES.—Section 501(d) of the Pub18 lic Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290aa(d)) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

20 (17); 

21 (2) by striking the period at the end of para22 graph (18) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

23 (3) by adding at the end the following: 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
73 

•HR 2888 IH

1 ‘‘(19) establish and implement programs for the 

2 identification, prevention, and treatment of patholog3 ical and other problem gambling.’’. 

4 (g) COMPILATION OF DATASETS ON PLAYER BEHAV5 IOR.—The Secretary shall compile and make available to 

6 the public, on the Web site of the Secretary, datasets on 

7 player behavior from customer tracking data collected or 

8 generated by loyalty programs, player tracking software, 

9 online gambling transactions, or any other information 

10 system. The Secretary shall ensure that personally identi11 fying information, including player name, street address, 

12 and bank or credit information is removed from the data. 

13 The data shall retain information on player characteristics 

14 including gender, age and region of residence, player be15 havior including frequency of play, length of play, speed 

16 of play, denomination of play, amounts wagered and, if 

17 applicable, number of lines or hands played and character18 istics of games played. 

19 (h) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.— 

20 (1) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—No provision of 

21 this section shall be construed as creating a legal 

22 duty in the Secretary, a qualified regulatory author23 ity, a licensee, or any employee or agent thereof to 

24 identify or to exclude compulsive players not on the 

25 list of self-excluded persons. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
74 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (2) NO CAUSE OF ACTION.—The Secretary, a 

2 qualified regulatory authority, a licensee, and any 

3 employee or agent thereof, shall not be liable to any 

4 person in any proceeding for losses or other damages 

5 of any kind arising out of that person’s gaming ac6 tivities based on a claim that the person was a com7 pulsive, problem, or pathological player. 

8 SEC. 107. PROHIBITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS. 

9 (a) PROHIBITION ON BETS OR WAGERS ON GAMES

10 OTHER THAN INTERNET POKER.—No provision of this 

11 title shall be construed to authorize any licensee to accept 

12 a bet or wager on any game, event, or activity that is not 

13 Internet poker. 

14 (b) PROHIBITION ON THE USE OF CREDIT CARDS

15 FOR INTERNET POKER.—No licensee, no person operating 

16 on behalf of a licensee, and no person accepting payment 

17 for or settlement of a bet or wager who intends to transmit 

18 such payment to a person licensee, may accept a bet or 

19 wager or payment for or settlement of a bet or wager that 

20 is transmitted or otherwise facilitated with a credit card 

21 (as defined in section 5362(11) of title 31, United States 

22 Code). 

23 (c) PUBLIC INTERNET POKER PARLORS PROHIB24 ITED.— 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
75 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be considered a vio2 lation of this title to operate an unlicensed place of 

3 public accommodation, club (including a club or as4 sociation limited to dues-paying members or similar 

5 restricted groups), or similar establishment in which 

6 computer terminals or similar access devices are 

7 made available to be used principally for the purpose 

8 of accessing Internet poker facilities. 

9 (2) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Any person who 

10 violates subsection (a) shall be fined under title 18, 

11 United States Code, imprisoned for not more than 

12 5 years, or both. 

13 (3) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this title shall 

14 be construed to authorize or otherwise to permit the 

15 operation of places of public accommodation, clubs 

16 (including clubs or associations limited to dues-pay17 ing members or similar restricted groups) and simi18 lar establishments that permit access to Internet 

19 poker facilities. 

20 (4) RELATION TO STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL

21 LAW.—Places of public accommodation, clubs, or 

22 similar establishments described in paragraph (1) 

23 shall be subject to all otherwise applicable State, 

24 local, and tribal laws. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
76 

•HR 2888 IH

1 SEC. 108. SAFE HARBOR. 

2 It shall be an affirmative defense to any prosecution 

3 or enforcement action under any provision of Federal, 

4 State, or tribal law that the activity forming the basis of 

5 such prosecution or enforcement action is authorized 

6 under and has been carried out lawfully in accordance with 

7 and under the terms of this title. 

8 SEC. 109. RELATION TO SUBCHAPTER IV OF CHAPTER 53 OF 

9 TITLE 31, UNITED STATES CODE. 

10 Subchapter IV of chapter 53 of title 31, United 

11 States Code, shall not apply to any bet or wager occurring 

12 pursuant to a license issued under this title, subject to 

13 section 110. 

14 SEC. 110. CHEATING AND OTHER FRAUD. 

15 (a) CHEATING AND CHEATING DEVICES PROHIB16 ITED.— 

17 (1) CHEATING PROHIBITED.—No person initi18 ating, receiving, or otherwise making a bet or wager 

19 with a licensee, or sending, receiving, or inviting in20 formation assisting with a bet or wager with a li21 censee shall knowingly violate, attempt to violate, or 

22 assist another in violating the rules of play estab23 lished by the licensee for the purpose of obtaining 

24 prohibited or unfair advantage in any game author25 ized under this title. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
77 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (2) CHEATING DEVICES.—Except as provided in 

2 paragraph (3), no person initiating, receiving, or 

3 otherwise making a bet or wager with a licensee, or 

4 sending, receiving, or inviting information assisting 

5 with a bet or wager with a licensee shall knowingly 

6 use, possess, or assist another in the use of, an elec7 tronic, electrical, or mechanical device or software or 

8 other program or tool which is designed, con9 structed, or programmed specifically for use in ob10 taining an advantage in any game authorized under 

11 this title, where such advantage is prohibited or oth12 erwise violates the rules of play established by the li13 censee. 

14 (3) PERMISSIBLE USES.—It shall not be a vio15 lation of this subsection for a licensee, its agents, a 

16 qualified regulatory authority, or its agent to use or 

17 possess a device described in the preceding sentence 

18 if— 

19 (A) such use or possession is solely for 

20 purposes of testing an Internet poker facility; 

21 (B) such device is not used in live play in22 volving actual bets or wagers; and 

23 (C) such device is registered with the Sec24 retary and the qualified regulatory authority 

25 that issued the applicable license. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
78 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (4) DISCLOSURE TO PUBLIC NOT REQUIRED.— 

2 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a reg3 istration under paragraph (3)(C) is not required to 

4 be made available to the public. 

5 (b) ADDITIONAL OFFENSE.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para7 graph (3), no person initiating, receiving, or other8 wise making a bet or wager with a licensee, or send9 ing, receiving, or inviting information assisting with 

10 a bet or wager with a licensee, shall knowingly use, 

11 possess, or assist another in the use of any cheating 

12 device with intent to cheat or defraud any licensee 

13 or other persons placing bets or wagers with such li14 censee. 

15 (2) BOTS.—A software program that makes 

16 bets or wagers according to an algorithm shall con17 stitute a type of cheating device under this sub18 section. 

19 (3) PERMISSIBLE USES.—It shall not be a vio20 lation of this subsection for a licensee, its agents, a 

21 qualified regulatory authority, or its agent to use or 

22 posses a device described in paragraph (1) or (2) 

23 if— 

24 (A) such use or possession is solely for 

25 purposes of testing an Internet poker facility; 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
79 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (B) such device is not used in live play in2 volving actual bets or wagers; and 

3 (C) such device is registered with the 

4 qualified regulatory authority that issued the 

5 applicable license. 

6 (4) DISCLOSURE TO PUBLIC NOT REQUIRED.— 

7 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a reg8 istration under paragraph (3)(C) is not required to 

9 be made available to the public. 

10 (c) PERMANENT INJUNCTION.—Upon conviction of a 

11 person for violation of this section, the court may enter 

12 a permanent injunction enjoining such person from initi13 ating, receiving, or otherwise making bets or wagers or 

14 sending, receiving, or inviting information assisting in the 

15 placing of bets or wagers. 

16 (d) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Whoever violates sub17 section (a) or (b) shall be fined under title 18, United 

18 States Code, or imprisoned for not more than 3 years, or 

19 both. 

20 (e) REPORTS.— 

21 (1) RECOMMENDED MINIMUM STANDARDS.— 

22 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

23 of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress 

24 a report containing the recommendations of the Sec25 retary on what minimum standards qualifying bodies 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
80 

•HR 2888 IH

1 should adopt to carry out the requirements of sub2 section (a). 

3 (2) IDENTIFICATION OF THREATS TO OPER4 ATION OF INTERNET POKER FACILITIES.—Not later 

5 than 1 year after the date that licenses are first 

6 issued under section 118(a), the Director of the Na7 tional Institute of Standards and Technology shall 

8 submit to Congress a report that identifies threats 

9 to the integrity of Internet poker facilities operated 

10 by licensees, including identification of technologies 

11 that could be used to hack computer networks, fa12 cilitate cheating, or otherwise place consumers at 

13 risk of fraud or monetary loss. 

14 SEC. 111. CONSTRUCTION AND RELATION TO OTHER LAW. 

15 (a) NO IMPACT ON EXISTING LAWFUL GAMES.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—If bets or wagers on certain 

17 games of skill are not regarded as gambling under 

18 all provisions of Federal, State, or tribal law in ef19 fect as of the date of enactment of this Act— 

20 (A) nothing in this title shall be construed 

21 to require licensing under this title with respect 

22 to such games; and 

23 (B) fees paid to participate in such games 

24 shall not be regarded as bets or wagers for pur25 poses of this title. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
81 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (2) RELIANCE.—Nothing in this title may be 

2 relied on as support for the legality or permissibility 

3 of games described in paragraph (1) without compli4 ance with the licensing and other requirements of 

5 this title. 

6 (b) NO EFFECT ON EXISTING LAW.—Nothing in this 

7 section shall be construed to repeal, to amend, or to affect 

8 the interpretation of any provision of State, or tribal law 

9 that was in effect before the date of enactment of this 

10 Act that— 

11 (1) prohibits, restricts, or otherwise addresses 

12 bets or wagers; or 

13 (2) prohibits fraud, unfair or deceptive acts or 

14 practices, or other criminal activity. 

15 (c) PREEMPTION OF STATE AND TRIBAL LAWS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise ex17 pressly provided in this title and excluding any pro18 hibitions described in section 104(a)(3), the provi19 sions of this title shall supersede any provisions of 

20 the law of any State or federally recognized Indian 

21 tribe expressly relating to the permitting, prohib22 iting, licensing, or regulating of Internet poker facili23 ties, except to the extent such State or tribal laws 

24 are not inconsistent with this title. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
82 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (2) LOTTERIES.—No provision of this title shall 

2 be construed to have any effect on the rights, privi3 leges, or obligations of a State or tribal lottery as 

4 may be provided under other applicable Federal, 

5 State, or tribal law. 

6 (3) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this title 

7 may be construed to limit the applicability or en8 forcement of any State or tribal consumer protection 

9 law or preempt the applicability of State or tribal 

10 trespass, contract, or tort law. 

11 (d) RELATION TO GAMBLING DEVICES TRANSPOR12 TATION ACT.—Equipment used by a licensee or significant 

13 vendor in the furtherance of licensed activities pursuant 

14 to this title (but not to the extent it is used for other pur15 poses) shall not be considered a gambling device within 

16 the meaning of section 1 of the Act of January 2, 1951, 

17 prohibiting the transportation of gambling devices in 

18 interstate and foreign commerce (15 U.S.C. 1171). 

19 (e) NO IMPACT ON INDIAN GAMING REGULATORY

20 ACT.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—No provision of this title or 

22 decision or action taken by a federally recognized In23 dian tribe or State pursuant to this title shall have 

24 any effect on non-Internet gaming activities within 

25 the scope of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
83 

•HR 2888 IH

1 U.S.C. 2710) or any successor provisions or on any 

2 tribal-State compacts or authorities pursuant there3 to. 

4 (2) TRIBAL STATUS OR CATEGORY NOT AF5 FECTED.—Tribal operation of Internet poker facili6 ties under this title shall not be considered class II 

7 or class III gaming under such section, and a feder8 ally recognized Indian tribe’s status, category, or 

9 class under such section shall not impact its status 

10 or ability to offer bets or wagers pursuant to this 

11 title. 

12 (3) NEW NEGOTIATIONS NOT REQUIRED.— 

13 (A) FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED INDIAN

14 TRIBES.—The fact that a federally recognized 

15 Indian tribe is operating under a license issued 

16 pursuant to this title or that a tribal regulatory 

17 body is acting as a qualified body pursuant to 

18 this title shall not require a federally recognized 

19 Indian tribe to negotiate a new agreement, limi20 tation, or other provision of tribal-State com21 pact, agreement, or other understanding with 

22 respect to gaming or revenue-sharing, with re23 gard to any bet or wager occurring pursuant to 

24 a license issued under this title. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
84 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (B) STATES.—The fact that a State has 

2 prohibited or limited Internet bets or wagers 

3 under section 104(a)(3) or that a State regu4 latory body is acting as a qualified body pursu5 ant to this title shall not require the State to 

6 negotiate a new agreement, limitation, or other 

7 provision of tribal-State compact, agreement, or 

8 other understanding with respect to gaming or 

9 revenue-sharing, with regard to any bet or 

10 wager occurring pursuant to a license issued 

11 under this title. 

12 (f) NO IMPACT ON INTRASTATE REGULATORY RE13 GIMES.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prevent 

14 or limit a State from establishing or maintaining regula15 tions to permit wagering on Internet poker where partici16 pation is limited to individuals within the physical borders 

17 of that State. 

18 SEC. 112. REGULATIONS. 

19 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

20 of this Act, the Secretary shall prescribe such regulations 

21 as the Secretary considers necessary and where expressly 

22 required or authorized to carry out this title. 

23 SEC. 113. ANNUAL REPORTS. 

24 (a) LICENSING AND REGULATION OF INTERNET

25 POKER FACILITIES.—Not later than 1 year after the date 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
85 

•HR 2888 IH

1 that licenses first issue under this title and annually there2 after, the Secretary shall transmit to Congress a report 

3 on the licensing and regulation of Internet poker facilities 

4 under this title, including— 

5 (1) the amount of fees collected under section 

6 104(e) and, in cooperation with the Secretary of the 

7 Treasury, an estimate of the amount of income tax 

8 revenue that is attributable to the operation of 

9 Internet poker facilities during the period covered by 

10 the report; 

11 (2) a list of qualified regulatory authorities, the 

12 number of licensees reviewed by the qualified regu13 latory authorities under this title, and the outcomes 

14 of such reviews; 

15 (3) a description of the efforts the Secretary 

16 has undertaken to ensure that qualified regulatory 

17 authorities are properly issuing licenses and regu18 lating licensees under this title; 

19 (4) a detailed description of each type of game 

20 offered by licensees and how each type is consistent 

21 with the definition of poker under section 102; and 

22 (5) any other information the Secretary deter23 mines may be useful to Congress. 

24 (b) CONSUMER PROTECTION.—Not later than 1 year 

25 after the date that licenses first issue under this title and 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
86 

•HR 2888 IH

1 annually thereafter, the Secretary shall transmit to the 

2 Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 

3 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

4 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on 

5 commercial and regulatory practices carried out to protect 

6 consumers with respect to Internet poker, including the 

7 practices carried out pursuant to the requirements of sec8 tion 106 and the regulations prescribed pursuant to such 

9 section. Such report shall include— 

10 (1) a detailed description of the efforts of each 

11 qualified regulatory authority to protect consumers 

12 from unfair or deceptive acts or practices, including 

13 deceptive advertising and marketing to minors; 

14 (2) a description of the practices that the Sec15 retary recommends a qualified regulatory authority 

16 to adopt to protect consumers; 

17 (3) such recommendations as the Secretary may 

18 have for legislative action as the Secretary considers 

19 necessary to protect consumers with respect to 

20 Internet poker; and 

21 (4) such other information as the Secretary 

22 considers appropriate. 

23 SEC. 114. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in 

25 this title, the provisions of this title shall take effect on 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
87 

•HR 2888 IH

1 the date that is 30 days after the date of enactment of 

2 this Act. 

3 (b) REGULATIONS REQUIRED BEFORE ISSUING LI4 CENSES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

5 title, a qualified regulatory authority may not issue a li6 cense under this title before the later of— 

7 (1) the date on which the Secretary prescribes 

8 final regulations under section 113; 

9 (2) the date on which the Secretary of the 

10 Treasury prescribes final regulations pursuant to 

11 subsections (a) and (d) of section 203; and 

12 (3) the date on which the Director of the Fi13 nancial Crimes Enforcement Network submits to the 

14 Secretary of the Treasury a list of unlicensed Inter15 net gambling enterprises pursuant to section 

16 5369(a)(1)(B) of title 31, United States Code, as 

17 added by section 202(a). 

18 TITLE II—STRENGTHENING OF 

19 UNLAWFUL INTERNET GAM20 BLING ENFORCEMENT ACT 

21 OF 2006 

22 SEC. 201. FINANCIAL TRANSACTION PROVIDERS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter IV of chapter 53 of 

24 title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

25 end the following: 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
88 

•HR 2888 IH

1 ‘‘§ 5368. Liability of financial transaction providers 

2 ‘‘(a) LIABILITY FOR CERTAIN FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

3 AND TRANSACTIONS.—A financial transaction provider 

4 shall not be held liable for engaging in a financial activity 

5 or transaction, including a payments processing activity, 

6 in connection with a bet or wager permitted by the Inter7 net Poker Freedom Act of 2015 or the Interstate Horse8 racing Act of 1978 (15 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.) unless the 

9 financial transaction provider has actual knowledge that 

10 the financial activity or transaction was conducted in vio11 lation of either such Act or any other applicable provision 

12 of Federal or State law. 

13 ‘‘(b) NO LIABILITY FOR BLOCKING OR REFUSING TO

14 HONOR CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A financial transaction pro16 vider that takes an action described in paragraph 

17 (2) with respect to a transaction shall not be liable 

18 to any party for that action if the financial trans19 action provider takes the action because the origi20 nator of the transaction or a party to the trans21 action is— 

22 ‘‘(A) a person or entity that is included in 

23 the list of unlicensed Internet gambling enter24 prises required by section 5369(a); 

25 ‘‘(B) a person or entity that is included in 

26 a list of unlicensed Internet gambling enterVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 30, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00088 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2888.IH H2888

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
89 

•HR 2888 IH

1 prises made available to the financial trans2 action provider by the Secretary under section 

3 5369(a)(3); 

4 ‘‘(C) a person or entity that the financial 

5 transaction provider reasonably believes is in6 cluded in a list described in subparagraph (A); 

7 or 

8 ‘‘(D) a person or entity that is dem9 onstrated to be an unlicensed Internet gambling 

10 enterprise based on information, other than a 

11 list described in subparagraph (A), that is made 

12 available to the financial transaction provider. 

13 ‘‘(2) ACTIONS DESCRIBED.—A financial trans14 action provider takes an action described in this 

15 paragraph if the financial transaction provider— 

16 ‘‘(A) identifies and blocks a transaction; 

17 ‘‘(B) prevents or prohibits the acceptance 

18 of its products or service in connection with a 

19 transaction or otherwise refuses to honor a 

20 transaction; or 

21 ‘‘(C) closes an account or ends a financial 

22 relationship.’’. 

23 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

24 for chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, is amended 

25 by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘5368. Liability of financial transaction providers.’’. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
90 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (c) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Section 

2 5362(11)(B)(i) of title 31, United States Code, is amend3 ed by striking ‘‘section 903(6)(E)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

4 903(7)(E)’’. 

5 SEC. 202. LIST OF UNLICENSED INTERNET GAMBLING EN6 TERPRISES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter IV of chapter 53 of 

8 title 31, United States Code, as amended by section 

9 201(a), is further amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘§ 5369. List of unlicensed Internet gambling enter12 prises 

13 ‘‘(a) LIST OF UNLICENSED INTERNET GAMBLING

14 ENTERPRISES.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) identify unlicensed Internet gambling 

17 enterprises in accordance with the procedures 

18 described in subsection (b); 

19 ‘‘(B) not later than 120 days after the 

20 date of enactment of the Internet Poker Free21 dom Act of 2015, submit to the Secretary a list 

22 of unlicensed Internet gambling enterprises that 

23 includes the information described in paragraph 

24 (2); and 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
91 

•HR 2888 IH

1 ‘‘(C) not less frequently than every 60 days 

2 thereafter, submit to the Secretary an updated 

3 list that reflects the results of subsequent inves4 tigations carried out under this section. 

5 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—The informa6 tion described in this paragraph is, with respect to 

7 each unlicensed Internet gambling enterprise in8 cluded on the list required by paragraph (1), the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(A) All known Internet Web site address11 es of the enterprise. 

12 ‘‘(B) The name of any person who con13 trols, finances, manages, supervises, directs, or 

14 owns all or part of the enterprise (as such 

15 terms are used in section 1955 of title 18). 

16 ‘‘(C) To the extent known, information 

17 identifying the financial agents and account 

18 numbers of the enterprise and the persons de19 scribed in subparagraph (B). 

20 ‘‘(3) DISTRIBUTION OF LIST.—Not later than 

21 10 days after receiving the list or an updated version 

22 of the list required by paragraph (1) from the Direc23 tor, the Secretary shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) post the information provided under 

25 subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2) on 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
92 

•HR 2888 IH

1 the Internet Web site of the Department of the 

2 Treasury; and 

3 ‘‘(B) provide to each person that is re4 quired to comply with the regulations pre5 scribed pursuant to section 5364 a copy of the 

6 information included with the list required by 

7 paragraph (1) in an electronic format compat8 ible with the list of Specially Designated Na9 tionals and Blocked Persons maintained by the 

10 Office of Foreign Assets Control. 

11 ‘‘(b) PROCEDURES FOR IDENTIFYING UNLICENSED

12 INTERNET GAMBLING ENTERPRISES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) INVESTIGATIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) INITIAL INVESTIGATION.—Not later 

15 than the date that is 60 days after the date of 

16 enactment of the Internet Poker Freedom Act 

17 of 2015, the Director shall complete an initial 

18 investigation of entities that appear to be unli19 censed Internet gambling enterprises. 

20 ‘‘(B) SUBSEQUENT INVESTIGATIONS.— 

21 After completing the initial investigation re22 quired by subparagraph (A), the Director shall 

23 regularly investigate entities that appear to be 

24 unlicensed Internet gambling enterprises. 

25 ‘‘(2) REQUESTS.— 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
93 

•HR 2888 IH

1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any Federal, State, 

2 tribal, or local law enforcement official, any af3 fected sports organization, any person directly 

4 harmed by unlicensed Internet gambling, any fi5 nancial transaction provider, and any inter6 active computer service shall have the right, but 

7 not the obligation, to make a written request to 

8 the Director for the addition of any person to 

9 the list of unlicensed Internet gambling enter10 prises required by subsection (a). 

11 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATIONS; NOTICE TO PER12 SON THAT SUBMITTED A REQUEST.—Not later 

13 than 30 days after receiving a request under 

14 subparagraph (A), the Director shall— 

15 ‘‘(i) determine if the request contains 

16 information sufficient to constitute a prima 

17 facie case that an entity is an unlicensed 

18 Internet gambling enterprise; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) notify the person that submitted 

20 the request of the determination of the Di21 rector. 

22 ‘‘(3) NOTICE.—Not later than 30 days before 

23 including a person in the list of unlicensed Internet 

24 gambling enterprises required by subsection (a), the 

25 Director shall provide written notice to the person of 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
94 

•HR 2888 IH

1 the determination of the Director to include the per2 son in the list. 

3 ‘‘(4) OPPORTUNITY TO CONTEST.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A person that receives 

5 notice under paragraph (3) that the Director 

6 has determined to include the person in the list 

7 of unlicensed Internet gambling enterprises re8 quired by subsection (a) may, not later than 30 

9 days after receiving the notice, contest the de10 termination— 

11 ‘‘(i) by submitting a written appeal to 

12 the Director; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) by agreeing in the written appeal 

14 to submit to the jurisdiction of the United 

15 States. 

16 ‘‘(B) EFFECT OF NOT CONTESTING.—If a 

17 person described in subparagraph (A) does not 

18 contest the determination of the Director to in19 clude the person in the list of unlicensed Inter20 net gambling enterprises required by subsection 

21 (a) in accordance with subparagraph (A), the 

22 Director shall include the person in the list. 

23 ‘‘(5) OPPORTUNITY FOR HEARING.—The Direc24 tor— 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
95 

•HR 2888 IH

1 ‘‘(A) may not include a person that sub2 mits a written appeal pursuant to paragraph 

3 (4) in the list of unlicensed Internet gambling 

4 enterprises required by subsection (a) until the 

5 Director provides the person with an oppor6 tunity for a hearing; and 

7 ‘‘(B) shall provide the person the oppor8 tunity for a hearing not later than 30 days 

9 after receiving the written appeal from the per10 son. 

11 ‘‘(6) DETERMINATIONS AFTER HEARING.—Not 

12 later than 10 days after the date of a hearing pro13 vided for a person under paragraph (5) (without re14 gard to whether the person appears at the hearing), 

15 the Director shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) determine if the person should be in17 cluded in the list of unlicensed Internet gam18 bling enterprises required by subsection (a); 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(B) if the Director determines that the 

21 person should be included in the list, add the 

22 person to the list. 

23 ‘‘(7) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A person described in 

25 subparagraph (B) may petition for injunctive 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
96 

•HR 2888 IH

1 relief in the United States District Court for 

2 the District of Columbia, which shall have ex3 clusive jurisdiction to hear cases arising under 

4 this section. 

5 ‘‘(B) PERSON DESCRIBED.—A person de6 scribed in this subparagraph is a person that 

7 the Director determines to include in the list of 

8 unlicensed Internet gambling enterprises re9 quired by subsection (a)— 

10 ‘‘(i) after the person appears at a 

11 hearing described in paragraph (5); or 

12 ‘‘(ii) that did not receive the notice re13 quired by paragraph (3). 

14 ‘‘(C) BURDEN OF PROOF.—The petitioner 

15 shall have the burden of establishing that the 

16 person should not be included in the list of unli17 censed Internet gambling enterprises required 

18 by subsection (a). 

19 ‘‘(D) STANDING.—Only persons that the 

20 Director determines to include in the list of un21 licensed Internet gambling enterprises required 

22 by subsection (a) and owners or operators of 

23 such enterprises shall have standing to contest 

24 the determination of the Director. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
97 

•HR 2888 IH

1 ‘‘(E) AVAILABLE RELIEF.—The court may 

2 direct the Director and the Secretary not to 

3 add, or to remove, the petitioner from the list 

4 of unlicensed Internet gambling enterprises. 

5 ‘‘(F) UNAVAILABILITY OF OTHER REM6 EDIES.—There shall be no judicial review of a 

7 determination under this section other than 

8 pursuant to this paragraph. 

9 ‘‘(c) EFFECT OF LIST.—A financial transaction pro10 vider shall be deemed to have actual knowledge that a per11 son or entity is an unlicensed Internet gambling enterprise 

12 if— 

13 ‘‘(1) the person or entity is included in the list 

14 of unlicensed Internet gambling enterprises required 

15 by subsection (a); or 

16 ‘‘(2)(A) the person or entity is included in a list 

17 of unlicensed Internet gambling enterprises made 

18 available to the financial transaction provider by the 

19 Secretary under subsection (a)(3); and 

20 ‘‘(B) information in addition to the list de21 scribed in subparagraph (A) is available to the fi22 nancial transaction provider that demonstrates that 

23 the person or entity is an unlicensed Internet gam24 bling enterprise. 

25 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
98 

•HR 2888 IH

1 ‘‘(1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 

2 the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement 

3 Network appointed under section 310(b). 

4 ‘‘(2) SPORTS ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘sports 

5 organization’ means an amateur sports organization 

6 or a professional sports organization (as those terms 

7 are defined in section 3701 of title 28). 

8 ‘‘(3) UNLICENSED INTERNET GAMBLING EN9 TERPRISE.—The term ‘unlicensed Internet gambling 

10 enterprise’ means any person who, on or after the 

11 date of enactment of the Internet Poker Freedom 

12 Act of 2015— 

13 ‘‘(A) violates a provision of section 5363; 

14 or 

15 ‘‘(B) knowingly assists a person in conduct 

16 described in subparagraph (A).’’. 

17 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

18 at the beginning of such chapter 53, as amended by sec19 tion 201(b), is further amended by adding at the end the 

20 following: 

‘‘5369. Unlicensed Internet gambling enterprises.’’. 

21 SEC. 203. REGULATIONS. 

22 (a) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 

23 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the 

24 Treasury shall— 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
99 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (1) prescribe regulations to carry out sections 

2 5368 and 5369 of title 31, United States Code, as 

3 added by sections 201(a) and 202(a), and publish 

4 such regulations in final form in the Federal Reg5 ister; and 

6 (2) prescribe such regulations as the Secretary 

7 of the Treasury considers necessary to ensure com8 pliance with chapter 2 of title I of Public Law 91– 

9 508 (12 U.S.C. 1951 et seq.) and subchapter II of 

10 chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code (com11 monly known, collectively, as the ‘‘Bank Secrecy 

12 Act’’), by licensees, significant vendors to such li13 censees, and financial service providers to such li14 censees (as such terms are defined in section 102). 

15 (b) EXCLUSION OF BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE

16 FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM FROM REQUIREMENT TO

17 PRESCRIBE REGULATIONS CONCERNING PREVENTION OF

18 RESTRICTED TRANSACTIONS.—Subsection (a) of section 

19 5364 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by strik20 ing ‘‘Before the end of the 270-day period beginning on 

21 the date of enactment of this subchapter, the Secretary 

22 and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Sys23 tem, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall pre24 scribe regulations (which the Secretary and the Board 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
100 

•HR 2888 IH

1 jointly determine to be appropriate)’’ and inserting ‘‘The 

2 Secretary shall prescribe regulations’’. 

3 (c) TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF CERTAIN REGULA4 TIONS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

6 during the period beginning on the date of enact7 ment of this Act and ending on the date set forth 

8 in subsection (d), part 233 of title 12, Code of Fed9 eral Regulations, and part 132 of title 31, Code of 

10 Federal Regulations, shall have no force or effect to 

11 the extent that those regulations require or impose 

12 any obligation that is inconsistent with the provi13 sions of title I. 

14 (2) PREVIOUS VIOLATION.—Paragraph (1) shall 

15 not apply with respect to any violation of a regula16 tion described in such paragraph that occurred be17 fore the date of enactment of this Act. 

18 (d) REVISION OF REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 

19 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

20 of the Treasury shall revise part 233 of title 12, Code of 

21 Federal Regulations, and part 132 of title 31, Code of 

22 Federal Regulations, to conform with the provisions of 

23 title I. 

24 (e) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 

25 the date on which the Secretary of the Treasury prescribes 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
101 

•HR 2888 IH

1 regulations under this section, and annually thereafter, 

2 the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the 

3 list required by section 5369(a) of title 31, United States 

4 Code, as added by section 202(a), including the following: 

5 (1) The size of the list. 

6 (2) The number of persons and Web sites 

7 added to and removed from the list. 

8 (3) The number and description of challenges to 

9 inclusion on the list and a description of how such 

10 challenges were resolved. 

11 SEC. 204. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

12 (a) DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE

13 FINANCIAL CRIMES ENFORCEMENT NETWORK.—Section 

14 310(b)(2)(I) of title 31, United States Code, is amended 

15 by striking ‘‘subchapter II’’ and inserting ‘‘subchapters II 

16 and IV’’. 

17 (b) EXCLUSION OF LICENSED INTERNET POKER FA18 CILITY OPERATIONS FROM DEFINITION OF UNLAWFUL

19 INTERNET GAMBLING ENTERPRISE.—Section 5362(10) 

20 of such title is amended— 

21 (1) in subparagraph (D), by striking clause 

22 (iii); 

23 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as sub24 paragraph (F); and 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
102 

•HR 2888 IH

1 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(E) LICENSED INTERNET POKER FACILI4 TIES.—The term ‘unlawful Internet gambling’ 

5 does not include an activity carried out by an 

6 Internet poker facility, as such term is defined 

7 in section 102 of the Internet Poker Freedom 

8 Act of 2015, operated by a person under a li9 cense provided under title I of such Act in ac10 cordance with the provisions of such title.’’. 

Æ 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS