Poker Players Alliance

excerpt:

MINNEAPOLIS — The Republican Platform Committee stripped a prohibition of Internet gambling from its draft platform, as part of an effort to appeal to the broadest possible constituency.

The passage had been a part of the last two platforms, and was opposed by virtual poker players. Contentious provisions could still be added by amendment to the platform.

“We can use this to make the tent bigger,” Sen. Richard M. Burr , R-N.C., and co-chairman of the platform committee, said of the compressed document.

The draft’s shortening from nearly 100 pages represents a victory for the Poker Players Alliance, a group that has lobbied to legalize and regulate Internet gambling. The million-member group has spent $1.2 million during the first half of 2008 and members have contributed more than $350,000 to candidates this election year.

“This is a small victory in our determined effort to educate both sides of the aisle that there is a true constituency in America that values its Internet freedoms,” said John Pappas, the alliance’s executive director.

Click here to read more:
CQ Politics | GOP Platform Committee Drops Prohibition On Internet Gambling

Author Contact Info: Kathleen Hunter and Bart Jansen, CQ Staff

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