Last week Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley told members of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) that she would be rejecting their bid to include an online poker initiative on Massachusetts ballots in 2010. Citing a failure to meet the legal requirements to make it onto the ballot, Coakley’s decision is the latest setback for the PPA and other lobbying groups trying to expand gambling in Massachusetts.
The gambling initiative was not the only question that failed to meet Coakley’s standards. The Associated Press reported that she also rejected two mortgate-related proposals and an initiative to put a percentage of the state budget towards local aid. According to Coakley’s official website the online poker petition was rejected on the grounds that it was not in the proper form. John Pappas of the PPA explained that Coakley objected to the use of the words “license” and “register” to describe a proposed 5% fee on internet gambling. The alternate descriptors left Coakley unable to determine the full ramifications of the initiative, resulting in the petition’s rejection.
The petition, filed on August 5th by Randy Castonguay, sought to clarify internet gambling’s legal standing in the state and proposed regulation and taxation measures as well and is just the latest initiative in the extensive lobbying campaign of the PPA and other pro-gambling groups in the state of Massachusetts. A recent article by the Associated Press reported that lobbying groups have spent over $5 million over the past four years funding their efforts. That money has gone towards a number of different legal initiatives including bringing brick and mortar casinos to the state and regulating online poker.
Coakley is an outspoken opponent of the internet gambling cause and her official website claims any form of online gambling is illegal, despite the fact that Massachusetts is not one of the six states with laws expressly banning the activity. With the recent ruling in the iMEGA case that positioned the legal standing of online poker and other forms of online gambling as something to be determined by individual states, Coakley’s stance has many online poker enthusiasts up in arms.
Of even more concern to the PPA and other lobbying groups is Coakley’s recent announcement that she will be running in the race to fill the late Senator Ted Kennedy’s now-empty Senate seat. So far Coakley and fellow Democrat Rep. Stephen Lynch have announced their candidacy and Lynch’s fellow House members Michael Capuano and Edward Markey are also rumored to be considering campaigns. Joseph Kennedy II, the son of late Senator Robert F. Kennedy, still remains undecided about whether or not he will try and carry on the Kennedy’s political legacy.
In the wake of Coakley’s announcement she will be running in the Senate race, she has been leveled with criticism suggesting the time-consuming campaign will affect her ability to continue on as the state’s Attorney General. In addition to occupying the bulk of her time between now and Election Day, these critics are also concerned that political aspirations will mar her ability to make impartial judicial decisions. Coakley told the Boston Herald she is still fully dedicated to her current position. “I am still AG,” she explained. “They can reach me 24/7. I have been and will remain involved in the major decisions in the office.”
Coakley’s campaign has already hit an early snag as a group of Republicans filed a complaint against her with state Office of Campaign and Political Finance and the Federal Election Commission for improperly allocating funds from her state campaign to pay for polling and other expenses related to her Senate campaign.
