Some analysts tried to hype last year as one of tremendous growth for the online poker industry. That growth never came and instead we lost one of the games first legal sites. While some are trying to be optimistic about online poker's chances in 2015, I personally think this will be another year of general indecision and slow movement. Below are my thoughts on some of the major online poker bills being considered.

The midterm elections are now in the books and I have been reading the various opinions how this will affect online poker legalization in the United States. A lot of focus has been placed on whether RAWA will find its way to a vote in Congress and if so, whether it will pass. Steve Ruddock is headlining those that are speculating whether Harry Reid will find a way to push an online poker bill through before the end of the lame duck session. Here are my thoughts on both matters: 1.

Amaya purchased PokerStars this week for over $4 billion. I didn't see that one coming. Amaya has made themselves the most powerful online gambling company in the world with the move. Some would make you think that the deal will result in nationwide online poker legalization in short order.

Today was the three-year anniversary of Black Friday. On April 15, 2011, the majority of the poker world was freaking out over their frozen bankrolls. In the days and weeks to follow, two things happened. First, we found out that Full Tilt was essentially broke and that UB was as insolvent as feared.

Back in August of 2011, I wrote an article entitled "Five Things You Will See Before Online Poker is Legalized in the US. " This article was part prediction and part a call for people to stop the insane talk that "legal online poker was around the corner. " I ran across this article today and decided to revisit my predictions more than 2 and 1/2 years after making them. #5.

The Poker Freedom Act was filed today by US Representative Joe Barton (R-TX) and is the latest attempt to legalize online poker in the United States. The bill covers most bases in regards to legalizing the game but there are a couple of glaring holes in this bill that need to be either clarified or closed to prevent controversy. Small Casinos May Get Shut Out Via Current Definitions John Mehaffey broke down the Barton bill over on LegalPokerSites. com and made an interesting point regarding what qualifies as a "Qualified Card Room.

Yesterday, the announcement was made that Shuffle Master was backing out of their deal to purchase the Ongame Network. I wish I could say that this surprised me, but when I read the news, it did not. If you would have polled Shuffle Master, or any company related to online poker in December or January about what the state of online poker in the US would be by now, and I think you would have gotten responses ranging from "full legalization" to "numerous states" either having legalized or close to legalizing online poker. It is now the end of June and there are exactly 2 states that have legalized online poker and only one on the horizon with a legitimate shot of doing so by year's end.

In an unexpected turn of events, it now appears that the Barton bill will not only come up for a vote, but may actually pass. Sources close to Capitol Hill reveal that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reed and Rep. Joe Barton have been in negotiations with key leaders in Congress over the last two weeks and have even met briefly with President Obama on the bill. As sources have reported, recent jobless news has helped to change the minds of many Congressmen that were on the fence regarding the bills.

I just read an article about a survey that US Gaming Survey did in conjunction with the Poker Players Alliance.   The survey had around 8,000 respondents and included poker players primarily in the 30 to 60 year range. The survey produced the following results.  I’ll paraphrase: Most poker players don’t play the lottery Many poker players quit playing online after Black Friday 70% of poker players don’t care where they play if it is legal Poker is a game of skill Most people spend less than $100 a week on poker.

Can I have what Phil Hellmuth is smoking? "I wouldn't be surprised if online poker was passed in the next five days. " I've got my Baked Cheetos ready for whatever wacky weed that Hellmuth is smoking. Did his Magic 8-Ball tell him that online poker regulation was likely soon or is this just another Hellmuth sales pitch? Don't get me wrong. I like Phil.