The Poker Players Alliance Needs You

Tuesday, August 29, 2006
by BroadbandPoker.com Staff

The Poker Players Alliance needs you to protect your freedoms as Americans and tell your Senators to vote NO to the anti-poker laws that are currently being introduced in Senate.

On July 11th, 2006, the U.S. House of Representative passed H.R. 4411, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which is aimed at preventing individuals from using their money and accessing Web sites for purposes of making wagers. Online poker is specifically targeted in this legislation and if the Senate passes it this year, your ability to play online will be seriously threatened.

Michael Bolcerek, president of the Poker Players Alliance, released the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that would prohibit Americans from playing poker on the Internet.

"We are disappointed that the House of Representatives would assail the rights of Americans to enjoy the great game of poker on the Internet. It is unconscionable that a skill game like poker gets swept into the net of prohibition, while online horse betting and Internet lotteries get free passes," said Mr. Bolcerek.

"The United States should follow the lead of the United Kingdom by regulating and taxing online poker, not banning it. An economic analysis just released by our organization shows that U.S. regulation of online poker has the potential to raise more than $3.3 billion in annual revenue for the federal government, in addition to another $1 billion for state coffers. We hope that this analysis will give a fresh perspective for U.S. Senators about the benefits of regulation.

"The Poker Players Alliance is undeterred in its mission to promote and protect the game of poker and we will continue to advance the cause on behalf of poker players in the United States."

Poker Players Alliance board member Howard Lederer also responded to the proposed prohibition on online poker by writing the following article that appeard in the New York Daily News. Gambling ban doubles down on hypocrisy.

Lederer emphasized how double standard the law is and that the law supposedly is to be a prohibition on online gambling, but the legislation as he puts it, "clears a path for certain favored types of Internet gambling. For example, the bill affirmatively legalizes online bets on horse races, Internet state lotteries and certain fantasy sports."

The Poker Players Alliance website reports that following the House vote to ban online poker the PPA membership has more than doubled and continues to grow. Even still, the PPA says, "it needs you to recruit friends and family to join the fight." They go on to say, "we need to show Congress that there is a large a powerful contingency that supports poker!"

With more than 65 million Americans playing poker on a regular basis the Poker Players Alliance seems to have a point. Along with that more than $60 billion was wagered on online poker in 2005 with the majority of that coming from American players. That's over $3 billion or so in tax revenue that the U.S. government is missing out on if the online gaming industry was regulated like it is in United Kingdom.

The Poker Players Alliance encourages all poker playing Americans to take action by writing or calling your state representative, writing or callling your member of congress and also sending a letter to your local newspapers and media outlets. Contact information for your local officials can also be found on the Poker Players Alliance website.

About the Poker Players Alliance:

The Poker Players Alliance is a not-for-profit organization fighting for the rights of poker players to play an American Tradition in the venue of their choosing, either on-line or off-line. We provide both a voice and a service for poker players to defend poker, a game of skill. We depend upon members contributions to lobby for your rights on Capitol Hill, or at the state level and look forward to you joining the PPA.

To support the Poker Players Alliance, please click the link below to find out more information about how you can help support our right as Americans to play the great game of poker.

PokerPlayersAlliance.org

Join us in our poker forum to discuss this topic.

Get all the latest poker news from BroadbandPoker.com.

Note: Do not copy articles or content from this page without express written permisson from BroadbandPoker.com. Copied content will be detected by CopyScape.com. Please read our RSS and Poker News Articles Terms of Use.