Poker Players Alliance

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On Thursday, major news rippled across the internet gambling industry. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced HR 6870, the Payments System Protection Act. The bill ensures “that implementation of proposed regulations under subchapter IV of chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, does not cause harm to the payments system, and for other purposes.” The new bill instructs the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve to work together with the Attorney General’s office to establish what is acceptable under the provisions of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). The bill is expected to be marked up on Tuesday and is already on the schedule posted on the House Financial Services Committee website.

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House Committee on Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) today introduced the Payments System Protection Act of 2008, which would direct the Department of the Treasury and Federal Reserve System, in consultation with the Attorney General, to create a formal process to define what types of online gambling are unlawful to make it possible for the U.S. financial services industry to comply with the current ban on Internet gambling, as required by the Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, or UIGEA.

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The debate over internet gambling has raged since the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was ushered through Congress in the fall of 2006.

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iMEGA announced this week it has a new big gun helping the organization prepare its challenge of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.

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Joe Brennan is the President and CEO of the Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association (iMEGA), at the recent Next Generation in Gambling Conference in Montreal, Mr. Brennan took the time to speak with iGaming News about iMEGA’s missions and why they are opposed to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA)

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Conyers, who is uncontested for re-election this year, chairs the House Judiciary Committee, with jurisdiction over gambling issues. He’s now the fourth-biggest recipient of contributions from gambling and casino interests in the House — and the top non-Nevadan.

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On Wednesday night, September 3rd, all eyes in the poker world will be focused squarely on Minneapolis, Minnesota, the site of the 2008 Republican National Convention (RNC). John McCain, the Republican nominee for President of the United States, made waves on Friday by announcing that first-term Alaska Governor Sarah Palin would be his running mate. McCain will formally accept his nomination this week at the RNC, which begins on Monday. On Wednesday, the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), in conjunction with the American Gaming Association, will hold a charity poker tournament benefiting the Paralyzed Veterans of America.

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Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) — U.S. poker players have anted up for another high-stakes game — lobbying.

Trying to overturn a 2006 U.S. ban on online poker, gamblers have started a lobbying group, established a political action committee, and promoted their effort to politicians by holding poker tournaments at the Republican and Democratic nominating conventions.

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On October 13, 2006, President Bush signed into law the SAFE Port Act. Buried within this legislation dealing with port security issues was a section entitled the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). The UIGEA, which had literally been added at the eleventh hour, has been the source of a great deal of confusion and debate regarding its applicability to internet gambling. The UIGEA did not actually outlaw internet gambling. Rather, it prohibited the transfer of funds from United States financial institutions to internet gambling sites that were not defined in the Act as “legal’ sites (i.e. sites devoted to fantasy sports, online lotteries, and horse/harness racing). The effect of this act has been to move most internet gambling sites off shore and to create confusion for financial institutions whose clients seek to use such sites.

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Denver — Not long after Congress passed a ban on Internet gambling, PR man John Pappas knew he had to be here at the Democratic National Convention.

Pappas represented online poker players. Their ragtag Poker Players Alliance had been stunned by Congress’ midnight approval of the ban late in 2006.

Internet gamblers had been powerless to block the bill. They were only loosely affiliated. They often knew one another only by their online nicknames.

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