State lawmakers looking to legalize Internet poker in Iowa are planning to open the door to multistate online gambling poker pots with more players. US lottery

Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Cedar Falls, said that he believes that the U.S. Department of Justice opinion will allow Iowa to enter into agreements with other jurisdictions that have approved Internet gambling, including Washington, D.C., and Nevada, and even, some foreign countries. Lottery results

“We believe that because of the Department of Justice ruling, we can now have a multistate compact,” said Danielson, chairman of the Senate State Government Committee. He compares his proposal to the agreement to participate in Powerball.

Danielson said he plans to draft a bill to legalize Internet poker in Iowa, and expects it to be considered this session, although he doesn’t have a timetable yet.

At the direction of state lawmakers, the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission last month released a report that looked at establishing a regulatory framework for Internet poker within Iowa’s borders.

The research estimates poker operators could pull in a “rake” of $13 million to $60 million annually from the games.

Assuming a state tax rate of 22 percent, just like casino taxes, those projections would generate an estimated $3 million to $13 million in potential annual tax revenue.

Sen. William Dotzler, D-Waterloo, said “I think the evidence is pretty clear that Iowans are already gambling online. We are losing a lot of revenue here in the state of Iowa” because Iowans are using offshore Internet gambling accounts, Dotzler said.

But the idea of Internet poker hasn’t been popular among the general public.

A Des Moines Register Iowa Poll in January 2011 showed that 73 percent of Iowans were opposed to online gambling. Only 23 percent were in favor and 4 percent were not sure.

“I would absolutely have concerns about this, especially for young people who would be exposed to fast-action gambling on a computer terminal,” said Tom Coates of Norwalk, a longtime critic of Iowa’s gambling industry.

A report by the University of Northern Iowa’s Center for Social and Behavioral Research found that 5 percent of Iowa adults had gambled on the Internet and 2 percent had done it in the previous year.

On the other hand, Kirk Uhlers, vice president of governmental affairs for U.S. Digital Gaming, said, “We believe that Iowa has enough of a population of players to support a network on its own, that you wouldn’t need the interstate component in order to make it viable. But it certainly makes for a more robust opportunity if you set up the interstate opportunity,” But efforts in Iowa and other states to offer online gambling is raising some worries by casino industry officials who believe that Congress should address the issue nationally.

Holly Weitzel, director of communications for the American Gaming Association, a casino industry group in Washington, D.C., said her organization is concerned that a state-by-state approach would result in a “patchwork quilt of rules and regulations” governing online gambling in the United States.

For now, it is up to Iowa officials to determine what path to follow and the people of Iowa to determine if they support the decision.