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Poker Players Alliance: News and Articles
Oct. 2007: Report from the Chairman
by Alfonse D'Amato

We have some excellent news for PPA members. But first, let's take a look at how we got to where we are today.

Everyone knows the back-story. One year ago on Oct. 13, 2006, the Internet poker community was hit hard when the president signed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) into law as part of the Secure Ports Act. This misguided and overly restrictive legislation was snuck through at the 11th hour, with little or no review, and was thrust upon U.S. banks and an unsuspecting general public.

While it is clear that UIGEA does not apply to Internet poker nationwide (federal case law has consistently held that the Wire Act applies only to sports betting, and very few states have any laws against Internet poker), the fact is that this legislation has had a chilling effect on your ability to access and patronize these legal businesses. In some cases, the new law forced some of the most well known competitors out of the U.S. market.

For the past year, the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) has been leading the fight to stave off rigorous enforcement of the UIGEA, clarify federal law to establish poker as a game of skill, and establish licensed and regulated Internet poker in the United States.

Thanks to your help, we have made tremendous progress. Today, two bills await Congressional action -- HR 2610, the Skill Game Protection Act and HR 2046, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act. If you haven't done so already, please ask your member of Congress to cosponsor these bills immediately. Click here to send a letter today.

The PPA is now a recognizable political force in Washington. With more than 800,000 members nationwide, we are the largest grassroots advocacy organization fighting for the rights of poker players. As you may know, we recently established a D.C. headquarters which is being lead by veteran political and policy advocate John Pappas - a longtime defender of poker in the nation's capital. I am thrilled that he is leading our efforts, and that we are firmly established in Washington with more direct access to important lawmakers.

I am also excited to inform you of our Washington D.C. policy conference which is taking place Oct. 22-24. I have been promoting this event to select PPA members who reside in targeted Congressional Districts. I am pleased to announce that more than 100 PPA members and professional poker players will converge on Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers and tell them poker is not a crime! This is a major step to truly demonstrate that there is a passionate poker-playing constituency that is crying out for Congress to do the right thing. We hope to make this an annual event where we invite all of our PPA members to attend.

The PPA has also developed a number of tools to help make you a better poker player and a better advocate for the game. I encourage you to visit our PPA Member Tools page to learn about all of our new offerings.

Finally, the fight for poker does not come without a serious financial commitment, and we need your help to continue our good work. I must humbly ask for you to make a donation to the PPA today, to secure the rights of poker players both today and tomorrow. Please click here to Ante-Up for poker. Even a donation of $5, $10, or $50 dollars will go a long way to advancing our common goals of a safe and secure online environment to enjoy this great American game of skill.

I expect to announce more progress toward these goals in the days and weeks to come. But we will your help to make these goals a reality. Without your active grassroots participation and funding support, online poker may disappear into the annals of history. We must not stand idly by.

Thank you for your support of the Poker Players Alliance. We cannot do this alone.

Proud to play poker,
Alfonse D'Amato, Chairman
Poker Players Alliance

https://pokerplayersalliance.org/news/n ... hp?DID=307