One of my favorite TV shows of all time is The West Wing. I found it fascinating, and I think it portrayed politics in a very realistic manner. Sometimes politicians add unrelated policies to a bill at the last moment in order to get something they feel is important, passed. This is what happened to the anti-internet gambling legislation. It has nothing to do with the subject of the Safe Port Act, yet it was added an amendment in a back room brokerage. The Republican Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist from Tennessee and the Republican Speaker of the House, J. Dennis Hastert from Illinois were determined to have this issue go through come hell or high water. The very method used to introduce the amendment kept it from being discussed or debated. By most Americans standards it was considered an inconsequential addition. Ok, they won't be able to play their favorite casino games online anymore. As they'll see it, it doesn't really matter since there's a new Indian Casino opening close by.

The amendment is blatantly economic protectionism, aiming to bring back money lost to the state lotteries and tribal casinos. I could go on all day about how wrong it is and unethical it is. I could stomp my feet and rant about discouraging free trade and the destruction of lives and careers of people in the industry. I could scream about the affect it will have on Gibraltar, Antigua, and Barbuda, countries which have placed their livelihood in the hands of internet gambling. However, there would be no point. The legislation did pass, President George W. Bush signed the bill on Friday the 13th, and now the amendment is a law. Americans can no longer directly deposit from their bank account or credit card into online gambling establishments, nor can those establishments give any sort of funds directly back to American residents. The question left is, now what?

The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) was doing their best to fight the original anti-internet gambling bill, H.R. 4411, and in some small way they succeeded. What they didn't expect was to trip on the last political hurdle on the way to the finishing line. This doesn't mean that they will stop the fight, though. They still have some hope that internet poker rooms can be saved from Congresses axe.

Michael Bolcerek is the President of the Poker Players Alliance and he wrote a very strong and emotional letter on their website. He's determined to make sure that poker doesn't go down without a fight. Instead he is telling poker players to fight Congress for a poker exemption. "We continue to demand that poker receive separate treatment from other forms of gaming. It is a game of skill, where performance is merited, and a community game, where the house is not your competition. These are real and significant differences. Our desire is to achieve the same type of exemption from legislation that other interests have received (Horseracing, Lotteries, and Fantasy Sports). We will continue to push forward to obtain this separate treatment when Congress comes back from the elections and into the next legislative session. Between now and when the new bill becomes effective (3 to 9 months) poker has an opportunity to achieve the same exemption. This is our most immediate short-term goal."

Bolcerek suggests regulation. "Regulation is the best public policy solution for both the federal government and the American poker player. Prohibition of on-line poker will only drive the game underground and build distrust and misunderstanding amongst the 70 million Americans who enjoy the great game of poker. I spent the better part of the year engaging members of the House and Senate about the idea of regulating Internet poker. This has raised interest from both Democrats and Republican’s alike. There has even been legislation introduced that seeks to establish a Congressional commission that would examine the best way to regulate this industry. Early this summer the PPA commissioned an economic analysis of the potential tax revenue that could be raised through regulation. Members of Congress have been receptive to this study and the $3.3 Billion that could be raised annually for the federal government. This is our ultimate goal and the PPA will drive this agenda."

Then Bolcerek calls to arms all of the members of the PPA. "First, every member of the PPA should be registered to vote in the upcoming state and federal elections. If you are not yet registered there is still time, click here to find out about how to register in your state. https://ssl.capwiz.com/congressorg/e4/nvra/"

"Second, be sure to vote on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 7th. We must put our vote where our voice is and establish a poker voting block. While the Port Security Act which included the prohibition legislation was passed near unanimously in both the House and the Senate, the House did have a clean vote on the poker prohibition in July. A list of how House members voted in July is available on our Web site. Finally, the PPA needs your help to spread the word about our organization. Please tell at least nine friends who might not know about the Poker Players Alliance to join the fight. We need to be 1 Million strong going into 2007."

I can not deny Bolcerek's commitment to the cause. I, on the other hand, have lost my fight. I would like to think that Congress will see the wisdom in his statements, do the right thing, and make online poker exempt from their anti-internet gambling ban. However, looking at the history the Department of Justice (D o J) has with poker advertising I seriously doubt this will happen. The is still hurting from the humiliating blow PartyPoker did to their ego by coming up with the brilliant idea to advertise their play for fun site when they were kept from advertising their play for real site. I'm not saying that this situation has anything to do with the industry really, they were just trying to sell their product, but it didn't help. I wonder what will happen to the PPA if poker doesn't make it in as an exemption. Actually, I would prefer to not find out.

Posted on: October 18, 2006

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