On Monday, the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) issued an action alert to its one-million members authored by 2004 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champ Greg Raymer. The alert calls for support of the PPA’s efforts to legalize and regulate online poker in the United States on AmericaSpeakingOut.com.
The Republican-oriented website, according to Raymer’s e-mail, focuses “on how to continue to make this great nation prosper. I believe we shouldn’t pass up this unique opportunity to share our message of personal freedom and liberty with these members of Congress.” Raymer’s call for support of HR 2267 (Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act) and S 1597 (Internet Poker and Game of Skill Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act) has received 75 responses and 742 votes at the time of writing.
Raymer’s plea posted on AmericaSpeakingOut.com reads in part, “In your fight to defend liberty, please protect my right to play poker. In 2006, Congress passed an ill-conceived law that seeks to restrict me from playing poker with other adults over the internet. This misguided prohibition has been a total failure and does nothing to provide necessary consumer protections.” The “ill-conceived law” in question is the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), whose compliance deadline came and went on June 1st. Now, banks, credit card companies, and other financial institutions must fall into line with the 2006 measure.
In order to support Raymer’s initiative and push Republican leaders to reconsider their stance on internet poker, players are encouraged to create an account to vote, which requires an e-mail, username, password, postal code, and avatar. Then, they’ll be asked to confirm a registration e-mail sent to their address. Finally, they can visit Raymer’s post on AmericaSpeakingOut.com and vote “Thumbs Up” on the issue.
Among those who have provided comments are PPA Kentucky State Director Rich “TheEngineer” Muny and “keithcolton1946,” who remarked, “The government shouldn’t be able to tell me what recreational activities I can spend my own money on after taking their share of my paycheck. This is ridiculous.” The issue has received a total of 742 votes, the overwhelming majority of which support the idea.
In a hearing last month in the House Ways and Means Committee, Congressman Jim McDermott’s (D-WA) HR 4976, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act, took center stage. Serving as a witness in the hearing was Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA), who revealed that HR 2267 would be marked up in July in the House Financial Services Committee. However, no date has been scheduled.
HR 2267, which establishes a full licensing and regulatory framework for the internet gambling industry in the United States, boasts 69 co-sponsors on both sides of the aisle since its introduction in May 2009. However, only six new lawmakers have signed on in 2010. Moreover, general elections in the United States, during which all members of the House of Representatives must run, will likely take a considerable amount of steam away from the internet gambling issue.
Raymer has been a workhorse for the PPA, appearing at a number of charity poker tournaments and other fundraising events putting his trademark “Fossilman” persona to good use on behalf of the industry. A patent attorney, Raymer defeated recent World Poker Tour Championship winner David Williams in the 2004 Main Event and banked $5 million, double what Chris Moneymaker collected the previous year. Raymer is a sponsored pro of PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site.
The PPA is based in Washington, D.C. and features former three-term Republican Senator from New York Alfonse D’Amato as its Chairman. Check back with Poker News Daily for the latest poker legislation news.