Washington, DC (July 28, 2010) –The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members nationwide, today applauded passage of H.R. 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, by the House Financial Services Committee.  The bipartisan 41-22 vote demonstrates that sensible regulation of Internet gaming is gaining support in Congress while prohibition continues to fail.   

“The fact is, online poker is not going away. Congress has a choice – it can license and regulate it to provide government oversight and consumer protections, or our lawmakers can stick their heads in the sand, ignore it, and leave consumers to play on non-U.S. regulated websites in all 50 states,” said Former Senator Alfonse D’Amato, chairman of the PPA. “I’m glad the Financial Services Committee today overwhelmingly chose to act and protect Americans as well as preserve the fundamental freedoms of adults and the Internet.”

Sponsored by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA), H.R. 2267 establishes a robust licensing and regulatory regime for online gaming in the United States, providing much needed oversight on this growing industry in order to protect consumers, children and problem gamblers.  By using the most modern technologies and regulatory authority, this bill goes further than the ineffective Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) to keep children and problem gamblers off these sites, at the same time allowing for strong consumer protections for adult consumers who enjoy this recreational activity.  Additionally, licensing and regulation presents an avenue for companies to return to the U.S., providing the economy with much needed jobs and tax revenue.  The bill was further strengthened by several bipartisan amendments that provide even greater consumer protections and strong enforcement against unlicensed operators, something that the current law (UIGEA) lacks completely.

“We commend the lawmakers who helped make H.R. 2267 stronger through a variety of consumer protection mandates.  In particular, we thank Representatives John Campbell (R-CA), Mary Jo Kilroy (D-OH), and Melissa Bean (D-IL) for their thoughtful additions to the bill and their interest in preserving the rights of adult poker players in their districts,” said John Pappas, PPA executive director.

While the bill has passed out of Committee, there is still much work to be done and areas of policy in this bill that must still be addressed.  To be clear, despite the concerns of some of our members, nothing in the Committee-passed legislation precludes lawful Internet poker-only operators whom U.S. players know and trust today from the opportunity to operate under a regulated system. The PPA will work with House and Senate lawmakers to ensure that the final legislation produces the best regulated online gaming environment for the consumer.

“This is a great day not only for poker players, but for proponents of Internet freedom and individual liberty,” said D’Amato.  “We thank Chairman Frank for his leadership on this bill, and look forward to working with him to bring this bill through the legislative process.”

Key provisions of the bill include:

• Thorough vetting of potential licensees and creation of an OFAC-style list of illegal operators;
• Mandatory implementation of technologies to protect against underage gambling using the commercial and government databases used for online banking to verify age and identity
• Requirements for operators to set daily, weekly or monthly limits on deposits and losses to monitor and detect individuals with excessive gaming habits;
• High standards to thwart fraud, abuse and cheating to ensure fair games for customers;
• Regulation to prevent money laundering; and,
• Processes to prevent tax avoidance.

About The Poker Players Alliance

The Poker Players Alliance (www.theppa.org)  is a nonprofit membership organization comprised of over 1,000,000 online and offline poker players and enthusiasts from around the United States who have joined together to speak with one voice to promote the game and to protect poker players' rights.

If winning the battle in the media is a prelude to success in Congress for the argument to license and regulate online poker, then two recent articles are sure to help.

Two high-profile newspapers have spoken out on the issue over the past few months, each in favor of poker's cause -- the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times.

These weren't just news articles reporting on the latest court case or bill involving poker. These articles were written by nationally respected columnists weighing in with their opinion, and both showed an understanding of the issue that many people on Capitol Hill still lack.

"It's fair to say that the American approach to Internet gambling, which is legal in much of the rest of the world, is absurd," Michael Hilztik wrote in the Times.

"Congress probably should fold its interference with Internet gambling and certainly should get its 10 thumbs off Americans' freedom to exercise their poker skills online," George F. Will wrote in the Post.

It couldn't have been said better if poker's advocates had written the statements themselves -- and it's no coincidence that both papers spoke to the Poker Players Alliance.

"I think we see pockets of interest from the national media on this issue," said John Pappas, executive director of the PPA. "I wouldn't say the tide is turning because it's always seemed the media understood this issue a whole lot better than Congress, that licensing and regulation is far superior than prohibition. Media has been there for a while, and we hope that it's going lead to changing minds on Capitol Hill."

The PPA is getting plenty of mileage out of these articles, keeping office-supply stores in business with how many copies it has made of each. Each time a PPA representative meets with a congressman or senator, a packet of articles is left behind.

Will is considered a Republican columnist, making his article especially useful in trying to convince Republican congressmen, the key group with which poker advocates need to make progress.

Articles in small regional papers don't get much attention nationally but can be more important in influencing an individual congressman.

"It obviously helps when you go into (government) offices and can show articles from major publications," Pappas said. "But smaller stories in hometown papers are great for congressmen because those are the papers their constituents read. A combination of both, hometown stories and national high-profile stories, works best."

Media opinion pieces usually reflect the views of the people, which is why they capture the attention of Congress. Once officials on Capitol Hill realize that the overwhelming will of the people who elect them is to have the right to play online poker, legalization will occur.