Just before heading to the nation’s capital for National Poker Week, representatives of the 1.2 million member strong Poker Players Alliance (PPA) were hard at work drafting a motion to file an amicus brief for the lawsuit by Account Services to recoup $13 million in online poker player funds.
The money was seized at the beginning of June under direction of the Southern District of New York. As the primary representative of players, the PPA filed a motion to submit an amicus brief in the case in order to prove that poker is a game of skill and, therefore, should be treated separately under the law. PPA Executive Director John Pappas, who served as the master of ceremonies at a charity poker tournament benefiting the USO of Metropolitan Washington on Tuesday night, commented in a press release, “As the voice of online poker players, PPA should be granted the opportunity to provide evidence and legal briefings on why online poker is a game of predominant skill and not considered illegal gambling under the law.”
The PPA’s motion to file an amicus brief reads, “If the Government is successful in seizing the funds at issue here… PPA members’ ability to continue to play online poker without fear that the funds they use to play poker will be unlawfully seized will be greatly impacted.” The document asserts that Account Services, which allegedly processed funds destined for online poker players, “is not in the best position to present arguments and evidence as to why poker is a game of skill and thus not prohibited under federal or state law.”
The motion for return of property by Account Services was filed on July 10th. It declares that “the majority” of funds seized belonged to law-abiding online poker players, that online poker is not illegal gambling, that the company will suffer “irreparable harm” if the $13 million is not returned, and that its Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights were violated. The funds in question were held in a Wells Fargo branch in Escondido, California and a Union Bank branch in San Diego. The Union Bank funds were seized without a warrant, which was ultimately filed 12 days later.
The PPA has been involved in several court cases at the state level arguing that poker is a game of skill. Rulings in Pennsylvania, Colorado, and South Carolina have overwhelmingly declared that poker is predominated by skill, a sentiment that PPA State Directors from around the country took to Capitol Hill as part of National Poker Week. Their efforts were effective, as Congressman Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA) told online poker forum PocketFives.com in an exclusive interview, “Poker is a sport of skill. If you don’t believe that, you need to watch some of the tournaments on television and understand that these are very talented people. They can win a hand with a lot worse cards than anybody else. It is a game of skill and not just what cards fall.”
Among those who participated in poker trials around the United States was World Poker Tour (WPT) Host and Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Mike Sexton. In South Carolina, Sexton came armed with video footage from WPT tournaments showing how the process of betting and bluffing took down pots. University of Denver Statistics Professor Robert Hannum presented the results of a joint study by Cigital and PokerStars revealing that 75% of 103 million hands did not go to showdown. Of the remaining 25% of pots, the player who held the best five card hand only won 50% of the time.
The PPA’s motion was filed in the Southern District Court of California. Its submission notes, “The Department of Justice has informed the PPA that it takes no position on the PPA’s application at this time.” We’ll have updates as they become available right here on Poker News Daily.
