In the ongoing battle to legalize online poker everywhere around the world, another little bit of good news has popped up. I appears the U.S. state of Iowa is close to passing legislation that would make online gambling legal there.

The plan would allow players to set up a cash-or-debit-card only account at any licensed gaming facility in Iowa, permitting deposits between $50 and $500. Although the plan hasn’t been drafted into a bill, proponents estimate that legalizing online poker would bring the state $11.5 million a year. And that’s money already flowing out of the state and into illegal gambling websites. Because these websites are unlawful in the United States, their domain names are registered out of the country.

If passed, the state’s plan would make Iowa the first state in the U.S. to allow and regulate in-state online poker and sports betting bringing an estimated $11.5 million per year to the state in the process.

The proposal is described as a rational response to the popularity of out-of-country gambling sites, which take millions of dollars out of the state every year. If a bill eventually passes the legislature, Iowa’s proposed regulations could set an example for other gambling states, and perhaps even the federal government.