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Click Here to Play Poker at HollywoodPoker.com |
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#21
05-14-2009, 03:40 PM
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Rep. Frank introduces bill to allow online gambling
Measure would gut prohibition passed in ‘06 By Martin Merzer Don’t bet on it quite yet, but you soon might be able to legally use your credit card to place online wagers without giving your card numbers to — and funneling your money through — a foreign company. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., introduced legislation Wednesday that would permit U.S.-based companies to accept online bets from Americans — and relieve United States-based credit card companies of the many gambling-related regulatory burdens they now face. “The government should not interfere with people’s liberty unless there is a very good reason,” said Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and a longtime supporter of online gambling, during a news conference. “This is, I believe, the single biggest example of an intrusion into the principle that people should be free to do things on the Internet,” he said. Gambling interests delighted The move won instant praise from a variety of gambling interests, including casino operator Harrah’s Entertainment, online wagering site Youbet.com, and the nonprofit Poker Players Alliance. “Online poker is a legal, thriving industry, and poker players deserve the consumer protections and the freedom to play that are provided for in this legislation,” said Alfonse D’Amato, chairman of the Poker Players Alliance and a former Republican senator from New York. “We are grateful for Chairman Frank’s leadership and will be activating our grassroots army made up of over 1 million members to help him drive legislation.” Called the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act, the proposed legislation would establish a federal framework under which Internet gambling operators could obtain licenses to accept bets from U.S. residents. The bill mandates thorough investigations of potential licensees and it requires technological barriers to deter underage gambling, fraud, money laundering and tax avoidance. The U.S. Department of the Treasury would be in charge of establishing the regulations; violators could be fined and/or imprisoned for up to five years. Amounts to a repeal of UIGEA In essence, the bill would repeal the widely criticized Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, passed in 2006. The UIGEA regulations went into effect on Jan.19, 2009, but financial institutions were given until December of 2009 to become completely compliant. That measure basically banned U.S.-based firms from conducting online gambling operations. Critics called the UIGEA impossibly vague, and said it produced serious compliance issues for credit card issuers and others in the banking industry, which somehow ended up on the front line of enforcing the ban. “It’s not a good thing for banks,” Steve Kenneally, vice president of the American Bankers Association, which represents credit card issuers and other elements of the banking industry, told CreditCards.com in January. He said the rules associated with the bill — and finally announced just last December as the Bush administration was ceding power — weren’t quite as burdensome as the industry feared, but that was only modest consolation. Instead of getting hit on the head with a telephone pole, we’re getting hit with a baseball bat. It still hurts. – Steve Kenneally American Bankers Association “Instead of getting hit on the head with a telephone pole, we’re getting hit with a baseball bat,” Kenneally said. “It still hurts.”rep-frank-introduces-bill-to-allow-online-gambling_1242301851391 Among the problems: No one in Congress or anywhere else defined the “illegal” part of “illegal Internet gambling,” requiring attorneys for banks and credit card networks to navigate a thicket of ambiguous, varying and often contradictory state laws and even Native American tribal rules. And the 2006 bill, passed in the dead of night, didn’t come close to achieving its objective — Americans simply pointed their Web browsers to overseas gambling sites. online gambling About 2 percent of Americans report they gamble online, according to a November 2008 survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center. The number fell off sharply after the passage of the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. To this day, Internet gambling remains a $10 billion to $12 billion per year industry in the United States, according to Congressional testimony and various industry experts. Now, amid the economic meltdown, Frank and others want to recapture some of that bounty and redirect it to the U.S. Treasury. Co-sponsors of the bill include Peter King, R-N.Y., and Shelley Berkley, D-Nev. “Chairman Frank’s bill is a welcome and realistic approach to U.S. internet gambling,” Michael Brodsky, chief executive of Youbet.com, said in a written statement Wednesday. “Illegal U.S. online gambling is a growing multi-billion dollar industry,” Brodsky said. “Chairman Frank’s bill recognizes those realities and would bring this underground activity into the light … providing much needed revenue in these difficult economic times.” Also on Wednesday, Frank said he would introduce separate legislation to delay implementation of the rules associated with UIGEA. “The legislation will stop federal regulators from enforcing the UIGEA until Congress has had a chance to decide national policy,” according to a written statement from Frank’s committee. Frank said he hopes to have his panel act on the legislation before the August recess of Congress, but passage is by no means assured. Last year, a similar measure failed to win congressional approval. And this latest attempt ran into immediate opposition Wednesday. Said Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala.: “Illegal offshore Internet gambling sites are a criminal enterprise and allowing them to operate unfettered in the United States would present a clear danger to our youth, who are subject to becoming addicted to gambling at an early age.” them can motivate you to do whatever it takes to never get into overwhelming debt again.
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#22
05-18-2009, 09:32 PM
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Regulating Online Poker on President Obama’s Agenda
Regulating Online Poker on President Obama’s Agenda
TourneyBlog Staff 18 May 2009 Regulating and licensing online poker is on President Obama’s agenda. The White House released their Citizen’s Briefing Book last week. Online poker players should be happy to note that regulating and licensing online poker is the top technology issue and the 11th overall. John Pappas of the Poker Players Alliance said this upon discovering the status of online poker within the Obama administration, “Poker players around the country are speaking with one voice to protect the game they love, and the White House is hearing that message.” Pappas, the Executive Director of the PPA, went on to say that, “[This] proves that this is not a niche issue, but a national public policy that this Congress and this president should advance this year." The White House asked citizens to submit policy proposals earlier this year to be voted on at change.gov. The issues with the strongest public support made it into the Citizen’s Briefing Book which was sent to Obama himself late last week. The proposal called “Boost America’s Economy with Legal Online Poker” received 46,890 votes, or points. Originally crafted by Aaron Huertas of Washington, DC, the proposal asks the government to reform the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act to exempt poker. It also seeks to boost the US economy by letting American players and companies make money and pay taxes instead of sending that money offshore. There are also provisions in the proposal to protect against online cheating. Pappas added that “The poker community stands ready to work with President Obama and Congress to make sure the will of the people is acted upon." He hopses that the “Administration hears and acts upon the clear message sent.”
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#23
05-19-2009, 01:11 PM
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Harrah's Joining The Battle For Legalized Online Gambling
Harrah's Joining The Battle For Legalized Online Gambling
 Online Gambling Anyone? There has always been the usual supporters of Internet gambling freedom. They range from the everyday citizen, to the big online gaming companies that will benefit from legalization. This time around, however, Representative Barney Frank has allies in places that before were against online gambling. Harrah's Entertainment has registered to lobby for the first time, and it is largely because they are in favor of legalized Internet gambling. The company has spent over $400,000 in the first quarter of 2009 on lobbying efforts. "It used to be that Las Vegas casino companies were against legalized online gambling because they felt that it would take away from their land based profits," said observer Lawrence Fishel, "but now, the economy has cut into those profits so deeply that online gambling could save some of these companies." Harrah's has already set up online sites that will be ready to go if the laws are changed. Of course, they would have to be one of the companies chosen to obtain a license, but given their history and the government's likely decision to keep the jobs in the US, that seems like a foregone conclusion. Many celebrities are also joining the fight this time around. That gives the Poker Players Alliance, with more than one million members, some added ammo on the lobbying side of things.
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#24
05-19-2009, 05:19 PM
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Poker players swarm site seeking input on big issues
On the Web, they urge Obama: Overturn ban on Internet gambling By Lisa Mascaro (contact) Tue, May 19, 2009 (2 a.m.) http://media.lasvegassun.com/media/i...c8bbae7a2ee918 Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., has introduced legislation to repeal the 2006 ban on Internet gambling. Reader poll Should the ban on Internet gambling be overturned?
window.addEvent('load', function(){ $('mini-poll-form').setProperty('action', 'javascript:postpoll();'); }); function postpoll() { //We can use one Request object many times. var req = new Request.HTML({ url: '/polls/2009/may/ban0518/results/rawhtml/', //$('mini-poll-form').getProperty('action')+'rawhtml/', onSuccess: function(html) { //Clear the text currently inside the results div. $('mini-poll-form').set('text', ''); //Inject the new DOM elements into the results div. $('mini-poll-form').adopt(html); }, //Our request will most likely succeed, but just in case, we'll add an //onFailure method which will let the user know what happened. onFailure: function() { $('mini-poll-form').set('text', 'The request failed.'); } }).post($('mini-poll-form')); } Sun coverage Beyond the Sun Sun Archives
Related Document Sun Blogs Washington — Those merry pranksters of the legislative process are at it again. During his transition to the White House, President Barack Obama asked Americans to send him their policy priorities, the makings of a Citizens Briefing Book for his new administration. Poker players flooded the Web site, suggesting online gambling should be made legal. Poker playing made the top 10 list of subjects sent to the White House, and the No. 1 issue in the technology category. The timing couldn’t have been better. The briefing book was unveiled last week, just days after legislation was introduced in Congress to repeal the 2006 ban on Internet gambling. John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance, said the onslaught is a reminder that “the poker community is strong, growing, active and paying attention to what Washington is doing on this issue.” This isn’t the first time the 1 million-strong Poker Players Alliance has rallied its community of gamblers to the cause. Last year, in advance of the Republican National Convention, poker players flooded a Web site soliciting comments on the Republican Party platform. Since 2004 the platform had a flank opposing Internet gambling, a social issue that played to conservatives but annoyed moderate Republican poker players. The e-mail assault was an organizational coup for the loosely affiliated gamers on the national stage. With the Obama Web site, the poker players “saw a great opportunity to get our issue in front of the new president, who is a self-proclaimed poker player,” Pappas said by e-mail. “Clearly, the citizens are talking and Congress needs to start listening.” In all, more than 125,000 users suggested 44,000 ideas to the White House. They cast 1.4 million votes for their favorite ideas. Each supportive vote earned 10 points. Legalizing poker was suggested by an online player from Washington, D.C., under the heading: “Boost America’s Economy with Legal Online Poker.” It earned 46,890 points. Poker players beat out a suggestion for increasing automotive fuel efficiency standards (46,120) but didn’t outscore “the permanent closure of all torture facilities” (61,250). Then-President George W. Bush signed the online gambling ban into law in 2006 after legislation was tacked on to a port security bill as one of the final acts of a Republican-controlled Congress. Poker players ever since have steadily mobilized for its repeal. An American Gaming Association study released Monday shows that 2 percent of adult respondents gamble online. The Poker Players group estimates between 10 million and 15 million Americans regularly gamble on the Internet. This month, Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., introduced legislation that would essentially repeal the ban by instituting a framework for licensing and regulating online games. Religious groups have vowed to maintain the online gambling ban, saying Internet gaming is a threat to home life and family finances. They compare online gambling with positioning a casino in the living room. Yet the bill appears to have growing support, particularly as lawmakers eye the money-making potential. The Poker Players estimate $3 billion annually could be generated from legitimizing the business. This year casino giant Harrah’s Entertainment became the first major bricks-and-mortar operation to back the legislation. Nevada Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley signed on as a co-sponsor. Frank spokesman Steve Adamske said support for the bill depends on the extent to which backers contact their lawmakers. Actions like the briefing book onslaught are “hugely helpful,” he said. Poker players weren’t the only ones making their voices heard. In some ways Obama’s briefing book reads like a to-do list he has already started — closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, developing clean energy sources, supporting investment in high-speed rail. In others it is purely the voice of the people. The top 10 issues include: “Revoke the George W. Bush tax cuts on the top 1 percent,” “Commit to becoming the ‘greenest’ country in the world,” “No more wars on abstract concepts” and “Ending marijuana prohibition
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#25
05-25-2009, 10:21 AM
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Podcast: Poker Players Alliance Exec. Dir. John Pappas
Posted by TheEngineer on Sunday, May 24, 2009 2:24:50 PM  Twitter This Story   P5s Podcast Poker Players Alliance Executive Director John Pappas discusses the latest poker bills introduced in Congress. Direct link: http://www.pocketfives.com/podcasts/050709.mp3
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