April 23, 2008 - If there is one thing that says
online poker is here to stay, no matter what certain people
in the U.S. Congress feebly try, it's the Poker Players'
Alliance. Membership for the online association just reached
the one-millionth mark, which is indicative of a growth
record that is not going to be subsiding any time soon.
With a name like Poker
Players' Alliance, you might think the association has
considerable interest in land-based poker playing. However,
the main goal of the PPA has and will continue to be the
legalization of online poker in the U.S. And so far, the PPA
is doing pretty good job at getting their message heard.
Ever since the UIGEA was first
passed, the PPA has signed up hundreds of thousands of new
members. One of the reasons in this spike of new sign-ups
(which is still a good reason to sign up if you haven't
already done so), is because the more people there are
supporting the cause of online gambling regulation in an
organized fashion, the more U.S. politicians will be willing
to listen.
While the PPA certainly does
support the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement
Act, they are more concerned with legalizing online poker
rooms than they are online casinos. According to Chairman,
Alphonse D'Amato, by seeking a carve out under the current
law (which both sports betting and lotteries receive), the
legalization of online poker stands a better chance.
Even though overturning
provisions of the UIGEA is a more drastic measure, many
people believe it is actually more feasible considering many
of the laughable provisions of the UIGEA still to be
enforced. Take the recent House hearings on the IGREA,
during which financial institutions and IT experts
overwhelmingly expressed a lack of confidence in the UIGEA.
Still, the PPA is in support
of full online gambling liberalization to include the
regulation of online casino gambling. Following the above
mentioned House hearing, the PPA sent out thousands of
emails to members of Congress in order to get the wave of
opposition going. They are also planning to set up shop at
the World Series of Poker this July in Las Vegas,
encouraging poker fans to join the ranks of the PPA,
register to vote and send emails to their Congressional
representatives.
Originally published:
April,
2008 | Categories:
Online Poker
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