Dear Members,
Thank you for speaking out with letters and phone calls and telling your elected
officials that your right to play poker is important and should not be restricted
by overreaching federal legislation.
Bills are still moving in both the House and the Senate, but with your help
Senator Jon Kyl's attempt to attach his bill to lobby reform legislation has been
slowed down. We are still in this fight.
In the House, Rep. Leach's bill passed out of Committee on March 15th, yet it is
unclear when it will be voted on by the full House. You will be pleased to know
that the Poker Players Alliance was on Capitol Hill fighting for your rights.
Please see the Reuters story below in which the PPA highlights the hypocrisy of
Rep. Leach's bill. To see our full statement, visit the press release section of
the Web site,
http://www.pokerplayersalliance.org/press.html.
Again, thank you for your continued support and if you have not done so already
call your Congressman and Senators and tell them to oppose any bill that limits
your rights to play poker.
Sincerely,
Michael Bolcerek
President, Poker Players Alliance
House panel clears anti-Internet gambling bill
Reuters
Wednesday, March 15, 2006; 12:46 PM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. House committee on Wednesday approved a bill aimed at
stamping out the $12 billion Internet gambling industry by stopping businesses from
accepting credit cards and other forms of payment. The bill, cleared by voice vote
in the House Financial Services Committee, would prohibit a gambling business from
accepting credit cards, checks, wire transfers and electronic funds transfers in
illegal gambling transactions. Unlawful gambling, under the legislation, would
include placing bets on online poker sites, for example, and any other online wager
made or received in a place where such a bet is illegal under federal or state law.
By making it illegal to accept payments from people who live where federal or state
law prohibits wagering, the legislation would impact offshore gambling Web sites
used by many Americans to place bets.
The legislation carves out some exceptions, including wagering on horse races, governed
under another U.S. law, and fantasy sports. The bill now moves to the House floor for
consideration. Major professional sports organizations supported the legislation,
including the National Football League and Major League Baseball, saying in a joint
statement that sports betting "threatens the integrity of our respective sports."
But Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Barney Frank, the top Democrat on the House
committee, opposed the bill. He said Congress should not seek to control how adults
spend their money just because some lawmakers oppose gambling. "Adults are entitled to
do with their money what they want to do," he said. A group called the Poker Players
Alliance opposed the legislation as well. "It is disingenuous to oppose Internet
gambling and then write a bill that makes select forms of online gambling legal," said
Michael Bolcerek, president of the group.
U.S. efforts to outlaw Internet gambling also have been opposed by the Caribbean state
of Antigua, which has been trying to build up its Internet gambling industry as a way
to make up for sharply declining tourism revenue.