Associated Press
Internet poker's run of bad luck continued in the North Dakota Senate, with senators overwhelmingly defeating a constitutional amendment that sought to require the Legislature to regulate the game.
The amendment drew only three votes on Friday, the same number that a separate bill to regulate and tax Internet poker sites received when senators rejected it on Monday. The amendment was defeated 43-3.
Supporters of licensing cyberspace poker had hoped the constitutional amendment would draw more support, because North Dakota voters would ultimately decide whether the state would regulate the game. The amendment, had it been approved, would have been placed on the June 2006 ballot, and would not have taken effect unless voters endorsed it.
The idea's critics, however, said if the Legislature put the proposal to a vote, North Dakotans might interpret the move as lawmakers' tacit endorsement of Internet poker regulation.
"I don't want this resolution to pass, because I don't want anyone to think that this Legislature is giving any kind of a pre-approval, or anything else, to the subject matter," said Sen. David Nething, R-Jamestown.
Sen. John Syverson, R-Fargo, said it was preferable for North Dakota to regulate Internet poker, and provide some safeguards for players, than to allow youngsters or people deep in debt to continue playing.
"We can deny that (Internet poker) is among us, or we can control it, for we will never be able to totally eliminate it, as much as that may be desired by some," Syverson said. "We need to prevent kids, and those that cannot or should not be participating in this endeavor ... from doing so."
Syverson and Sens. Jack Traynor, R-Devils Lake, and Connie Triplett, D-Grand Forks, voted in favor of the measure. All three are members of the Senate's Judiciary Committee, which held hearings on both Internet poker measures. Traynor is the panel's chairman.
"I think we want to engage the people of North Dakota in a debate as to whether they want online or Internet poker," Traynor said. "Let the debate begin. Let the people speak."
On Monday, a bill to license, regulate and tax Internet poker sites based in North Dakota failed, 44-3, with Syverson, Traynor and Triplett as its only supporters. One of Monday's "no" votes, Sen. Ed Kringstad, R-Bismarck, was absent from Friday's vote.
Sen. Tom Trenbeath, R-Cavalier, said he opposed the amendment because it spells out that the Legislature "shall authorize" North Dakota-based Internet poker sites. The amendment does not give the Legislature any discretion about what to do, and the U.S. Justice Department believes all Internet gambling is illegal, Trenbeath said.
"The ballot measure is passed, and we are forced to put into effect a piece of legislation that the Department of Justice says is unlawful under federal law," Trenbeath said. "Which master do we serve at that point?
"I'm not tempted to tell Uncle Sam he's wrong," Trenbeath said, "and to spend the money to attempt to prove it."
The resolution is HCR3035.
