Feb 06, 2006 - 10:09:42 CST
The Associated PressAn Internet poker advocate expects to decide soon whether to campaign for an initiative to license the game in North Dakota, although he says the idea's prospects are dim at present.
``At this point in time, there's nothing, and very soon, I've got to say the door is closed, and not go any further,'' said state Rep. Jim Kasper, R-Fargo. ``An initiated measure, you need to do a bunch of things to make sure you have an initiated measure, like get signatures.''
During the 2005 Legislature, Kasper sponsored a bill and constitutional amendment to allow North Dakota's attorney general to license and regulate Internet card rooms. Both the law and amendment won approval in the House, but were soundly defeated in the state Senate.
Kasper has subsequently promoted the idea of a North Dakota poker licensing initiative at recent industry conferences. If poker supporters were to gather enough petition signatures, they could bypass the Legislature and put the licensing idea directly to a vote.
In an interview, Kasper said he has mentioned the potential $1 million cost of an initiative campaign in discussions with poker company officials. They did not seem put off by the sum, but no one has made commitments, he said.
Kasper attributed fundraising difficulty to the decentralized nature of the Internet poker industry, comparing the task of organizing a campaign to ``trying to herd a bowl of Jell-O.''
``If I were wealthy and I could take a lot of time away from my business to maybe devote my time to that only, maybe I could get it done,'' he said. ``But I've got bills to pay.''
Kasper is president of Asset Management Group Inc., an employee benefits and financial planning company.
To get on the November ballot, supporters of an initiated law have until Aug. 8 to gather petition signatures from at least 12,844 North Dakota voters. Putting a constitutional amendment on the ballot requires more work; at least 25,688 names are needed.
``I need to figure out, and I haven't yet, how to get the industry to make a commitment to fund an initiated measure, and they're not organized. They're all over the world,'' he said. ``How do I bring them all together? That's my problem, and I have not solved that problem yet.''
Kasper would need to draft an initiated law and constitutional amendment, get Secretary of State Al Jaeger's approval of the petitions, and register a fundraising committee for the campaign.
``Things are going to have to happen relatively soon, otherwise, I'm going to just drop it. I've got to get off the dime, myself,'' Kasper said.
No other state licenses online poker rooms, in part because the U.S. Justice Department contends that Internet gambling is illegal. Kasper and other industry advocates say the federal agency's legal claims are shaky, and Kasper believes the industry could bring millions of dollars in licensing income to North Dakota.
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