PPA hits back

The Poker Players Alliance, a nonprofit organization acting on behalf of American poker players has hit back at recent legislation passed by Congress making online poker effectively illegal for US based players.

The organisation claims the grassroots support of more then 110,000 US poker enthusiasts who are less than chuffed at recent developments.

In a strongly worded statement their president Michael Bolcerek attacks US politicans and points to research that suggests 74% of Americans oppose federal attempts to ban internet poker.

He is also critical of the back-door fashion in which the measures have been pushed through.

"This last minute deal reeks of political gamesmanship. The American people should be outraged that Congress has hi-jacked a vital security bill with a poker prohibition that nearly three fourths of the country opposes,"

"Allowing this bill to become law would run contrary to public opinion and would damage an already fractured relationship between government and the electorate. The millions of Americans who enjoy playing this great game will have the last voice in this debate come Election Day."

He continues: "Congress has an opportunity to regulate and tax online poker leading to potentially billions of dollars in annual revenue for the federal government and the state."

"If the goal of Congress is to protect people from the possible dangers of gambling, a prohibition is the worst way of achieving it. All it will do is push poker underground, essentially creating online speakeasies, which will provide no protection for youths, no services for the problem gambler and leave only the most unscrupulous operators in the game."

The statement serves to both act as a rallying call to US players to make their opposition known through the political process; and warn the powers that be that play is likely to continue in an unregulated form, which isn’t beneficial to anyone, except the dodgy types that will run the games.