On June 1st, the financial services industry in the United States must fall into full compliance with the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). Scrambling to create an exemption for online poker is the Poker Players Alliance (PPA).
The PPA has approached Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) seeking a carve-out for online poker. PPA Executive Director John Pappas told Poker News Daily that the task is anything but easy: “The PPA is going to submit a petition seeking that peer-to-peer games be excluded from the final promulgation of the UIGEA rules. We need to get Jon Kyl to agree to this revision. It wouldn’t seek to delay the law, but it would clearly exempt poker and pari-mutuel dog and horse racing.”
Geithner and U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke rubber-stamped a six-month delay of the UIGEA regulations to June 1st in a November decision. In theory, the half-year delay would allow time for legislators to address the shortcomings of the UIGEA. However, lawmakers have instead focused on macro issues like health care and economic reform, so no markup of internet gambling legislation has taken place. In December, a bill to license and regulate the industry proposed by Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) was discussed in the House Financial Services Committee.
Committee spokesperson Steve Adamske told Poker News Daily that it was too early to speculate on the prospects of a second delay of the UIGEA regulations. Instead, he commented, “We’ll be doing another hearing on the regulation delay bill. We would like to do it soon.” The bill in question, HR 2266, delays the enforcement of the UIGEA regulations by one year.
Pappas told Poker News Daily that Kyl’s interests lie in seeing a law he helped push through Congress in 2006 come to fruition: “I don’t think it comes down to Kyl having an axe to grind with poker players. I think he’d be open to a legislative solution, but he wants to get his law enforced.” The UIGEA was approved in the final moments of the 2006 Congressional session at the urging of Kyl and former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), who has since disappeared from Capitol Hill. The UIGEA was attached to the SAFE Port Act, an unrelated port security measure, and not discussed in the Senate.
Kyl purportedly delayed Treasury appointments partly in retaliation for the six-month delay in the UIGEA regulations. In February, the stall tactic was lifted and Marisa Lago, Mary John Miller, and Charles Collins were all confirmed. Kyl appeared on Fox News on Monday morning to address the possibility of filibustering U.S. President Barack Obama’s choice for the yet-to-be vacated Supreme Court seat held by John Paul Stevens.
Pappas speculated on the effect that the UIGEA regulations might have if they were ultimately enforced on June 1st: “It’s not going to have any effect on those who wish to miscode transactions and those who are not the most upstanding actors. They’ll continue to operate without fear of this law and players will continue to be able to wager on those sites. It’s the larger, reputable online poker sites that will have to review their operations and make certain that they’re above board.” Turning up on Monday in the Financial Times newspaper was a rumored federal grand jury investigation of Full Tilt Poker on money laundering charges. Full Tilt is the industry’s second largest online poker site.
On April 14th, the PPA is sponsoring an Ante Up for Africa fundraiser at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. The event features Ante Up for Africa co-founder Annie Duke, Andy Bloch, Howard Lederer, and 2004 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion Greg Raymer. The $500 buy-in charity poker tournament will also feature several members of Congress.
Pappas told Poker News Daily why the PPA elected to partner with Duke and Ante Up for Africa for the event: “Working with Annie and other folks from the organization, we thought it’d be a good thing for the PPA to get involved. We’re underwriting the cost of the event and Full Tilt Poker has sponsored a $10,000 WSOP Main Event seat for the winner. Every dollar raised will go right to charity to help them establish peace and prosperity in a war-torn area of the world.” Lawmakers who are scheduled to turn out include Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA), and Congresswoman Linda Sanchez (D-CA).
The PPA boasts more than one million members and has remained the poker industry’s premier lobbying voice. The organization features former three-term Republican Senator Alfonse D’Amato as its Chairman and offers free memberships to poker players and others interested in the issue.
We’re screwed, with a grand jury on the tail of Full Tilt, Kyl will never go for online poker, he’s supposedly in the pockets of B&M casinos, Frank’s bill isn’t good enough, Menendez has a good idea, but too many cooks stirring the pot. Condense these things, let the PPA vote on what should be included, let the Pros give their .02, and bring this thing to Congress and get things going as a solidified group instead of nit picking on little things, we’re never going to get this passed the way we’re going.
I’m 60 years old and 100% disabled…
one of the few pleasures i have in life is internet poker and i’ll stop playing when they pry my cold dead hands from my laptop…