The North Dakota Senate Judiciary Committee sent HB 1509, a bill that would license and regulate online poker in the state, to the full Senate Friday after a 3-3 split vote of committee members.
The vote of "without recommendation" is not the worst thing that could have happened in the committee, according to the bill's main sponsor Rep. Jim Kasper, R-Fargo.
The committee could have given the bill a vote of "don't pass" if enough members were opposed to the concept.
The bill, which has been amended from its House version, contains no fiscal note, meaning that it goes directly to the full Senate rather than to the Appropriations Committee.
The amended bill, which received bi-partisan support out of the committee, is expected to go before the full Senate on Tuesday or Wednesday for a vote. If the bill passes the Senate, the amended version will be sent back to the House for a final vote of approval.
HB 1509 would license and regulate online poker rooms in North Dakota. The bill would force operators to have a business presence in the state (encouraging job growth) and was amended in the Senate to include a defense fund, financed by the industry, to help pay for a possible court battle with the Department of Justice which is opposed to states regulating most forms of online gambling.