Here lately, when we hear about casino legislation in the US, it centers around the creation of new gaming venues or allowing casinos to go online with internet-based play. In the state of Louisiana, a different type of legislation is up for consideration. A new bill is making the rounds involving the skill level of players and when casinos have the right to remove players from the gaming tables.
House Bill 152 is a measure that would make it more difficult for casino operators to remove players based on their skill level. The bill was able to advance via a committee last week and now moves on for further consideration among lawmakers. If passed into law, casinos would not be allowed to exclude a gamer from game play based only on their skill level.
Current laws dictate that a player can be removed from a casino for any reason, except for their race, nationality, disability, sex, creed or color. Casinos can remove a player for cheating or being disruptive within the venue.
The new bill, sponsored by Representative Walt Leger, was introduced last month and would stop casinos from removing players who are just good at the game. There are players who go on winning streaks or use specific skills to be better at a particular game. Leger does not want to see the casinos being able to remove a player just because they go on a winning streak.
In many casinos in the US, if a player seems to have an advantage, say with card counting at the blackjack table, they can be removed from the premises at the discretion of the casino. With this new measure, it seems that the casino would not be able to use a factor such as card counting as reasoning behind removing a player from the casino floor.
The bill now moves on for further consideration and we shall see if it continues to gain headway or does not garner enough support to be signed into law.
