The Poker Players Alliance participated at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference. I went to D.C. to pitch in. I -- with the help of some great editing from some fellow poker players -- wrote up a handout on why conservatives should wish to protect poker rights. We shared boxes of these handouts with the conference attendees:
Ante Up for Your Rights
The Conservative Case for Protecting Poker
Ante Up for…Limited government
- Many conservatives believe the federal government should not be in the business of preventing adults from playing a game of poker at a time and place of their choosing. These include former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, George Will, Walter Williams, and Grover Norquist, all of whom have written in opposition to prohibitions on poker.
- Conservatives believe “the government that governs best governs least.” Poker is a great American pastime that has been enjoyed by U.S. soldiers, presidents, world leaders, and everyday Americans. It is simply wrong that Americans are being told they are criminals for enjoying the great game of poker.
- The new law unfairly discriminates against poker giving special protections to activities such as intrastate gaming, on-line lotteries, betting on horse racing, and fantasy sports for cash.
- The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) requires banks and credit card companies to police the Internet and the financial system to stop Americans from participating in “unlawful Internet gambling” – a requirement the government could not even define. U.S. licensing and regulation removes this burden from America’s financial services industry. It’s time to stop treating banks and credit card companies like agencies of the federal government.
Ante Up for…Personal Responsibility
- Only through meaningful regulation, not prohibition, can we ensure fairness of the game, provide protections for children, and provide services for problem gamblers. And if taxed, significant revenue could be raised for federal and state governments without increasing taxes on citizens.
- U.S. licensing and regulation will mandate verification of the ages of the participants. Sites comply voluntarily now, but regulation will give U.S. laws the teeth needed for enforcement. It will also provide protections for those with excessive gaming habits, including mandated use of self-exclusion lists.
- Licensing and regulation will provide for consumer protections while stimulating the American economy and generating tax revenue and licensing fees.
Ante Up for…Internet Freedom
- Internet censorship and an unenforceable, unpopular prohibition provide no benefits to anyone. All censorship and prohibition can do is drive players underground or overseas while bringing the power of the federal government into America’s homes, where it doesn’t belong.
- Many voters – free speech advocates, young voters, and conservatives in particular – are suspicious of arguments contending that Internet freedom is dangerous and banning certain online activities or confiscating virtual property.
- U.S. licensing and regulation of online poker will allow American companies to participate in the world’s Internet gaming market, bringing needed business and jobs to America. All a prohibition can do is send U.S. jobs and money abroad.
- Regulators, legislators and financial institutions are all warning that UIGEA is unenforceable. With banks now needing to rebuild themselves, it is difficult to imagine the banking system being used to police the Internet to stop a legitimate game of skill like poker.
The Legal Community Agrees:
Poker is a Game of Skill, Not Chance
Poker’s Recent Key Legal Victories
Colorado – in late January a Colorado jury found an organizer of a poker league, Kevin P. Raley, not guilty of unlawful gaming. Under Colorado law, gambling is defined as wagering on a game of chance. With help of expert testimony from the PPA, the jury found the poker league was playing a game of skill, not chance, and was not participating in unlawful gaming.
Pennsylvania – Earlier this year Judge Thomas James, Jr. ruled that poker is predominantly a game of skill. The Pennsylvania court took the next step and threw out 20 charges against the defendants, who held a poker game in their home.
Kentucky – a judge in Kentucky, with the support of the Commonwealth’s Democratic Governor, Steve Beshear, ordered the seizure of numerous Internet domain names related to Internet gaming. Of the over 141 websites ordered for seizure, not one was located in the state of Kentucky. This action would result in a precedent allowing any government to capture and shut down perfectly legal Internet sites that are based outside of their jurisdiction. The Kentucky Court of Appeals overturned the lower court’s ruling to seize the domain names. However, the governor has appealed to the Kentucky Supreme Court.
South Carolina – A South Carolina judge found that poker is indeed a game of skill, not chance, during a trial where defendants were charged with playing cards in a “house used as a place of gaming”. PPA argued that the Court should adopt the rulings of other courts that gambling refers to a game in which the outcome is determined predominantly by chance, not by skill. The judge agreed and kicked it to a higher court.
PPA’s Litigation Support Network has been involved in each of these cases. We provided expert witnesses, prepared arguments for trial, and filed amicus briefs with the courts.
The Problem with “Midnight Rulemaking”
- The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was included on a port security bill that was rushed through Congress before the 2006 election. In the waning days of the Bush Administration, the rule pertaining to this law was implemented in a way that many consider an unlawful power play.
- The regulation deputizes banks and payment systems to block “unlawful Internet gambling” but does not define what that term means. Rather, the general counsel of every bank in the country must research what “unlawful Internet gambling” means in each state and on the federal level.
- The Office of Management and Budget has estimated that the rule will cost more than $100 million for banks and payment systems to implement, and take more than one million man-hours.
- The rule is not set to go into effect until December of this year. Congress is currently looking at whether this rule, and others like it, should be overturned.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pictures From the Trip
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pictures From the Trip
John Pappas, professional poker player and PPA Board Member Greg Raymer, and me strategizing for CPAC
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Me, Ralph Reed (formerly of the Christian Coalition), Greg Raymer, Grover Norquist (head of Americans for Tax Reform), and PPA Executive Director John Pappas
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greg Raymer diligently signing autographs as folks in line wait for their turn
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I met with my Congressman's staffer (my Congressman is Geoff Davis, R-KY) while in D.C. It went well in terms of discussion, though I don't imagine he'll ever support us.
Note the CPAC-friendly tie
:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CPAC went well. Nothing but positive feedback from conference attendees:
I stopped by the Campaign for Liberty booth and participated in a game of skill -- a dart toss at balloons. I won a pocket Constitution signed by Ron Paul. My wife won one as well:
Dr. Paul stopped by the booth later to sign autographs. He was very popular among the CPAC crowd. Hopefully that's a harbinger for a more limited government future for the GOP:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some Articles on PPA at CPAC
Here's a very nice Washington Times article on PPA at CPAC.
It hit the front page of Digg, at http://digg.com/politics/Poker...conservatives:
It hit the front page of Digg, at http://digg.com/politics/Poker...conservatives:
A winning hand with conservatives?
Poker industry woos CPAC
Kara Rowland
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Friday, February 27, 2009
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...conservatives/
The poker industry played a game of chance Thursday when venturing into the backyard of some of its harshest critics - conservatives - to fend off the assault on their "sport."
Stressing that poker is a game of skill, like golf, and not chance, like roulette, slots or other forms of gambling, the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) set up a table at the Conservative Political Action Conference to lobby against local, state and federal encroachments on both online and offline versions of the card game.
"I don't want the government telling me what to do unless I'm hurting you," said 2004 World Series of Poker champion Greg "Fossilman" Raymer. "The only issue is going to be protecting children. I don't believe that adults should be protected from themselves by the government; that's what your family's supposed to do."....
Stressing that poker is a game of skill, like golf, and not chance, like roulette, slots or other forms of gambling, the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) set up a table at the Conservative Political Action Conference to lobby against local, state and federal encroachments on both online and offline versions of the card game.
"I don't want the government telling me what to do unless I'm hurting you," said 2004 World Series of Poker champion Greg "Fossilman" Raymer. "The only issue is going to be protecting children. I don't believe that adults should be protected from themselves by the government; that's what your family's supposed to do."....
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Good article in Bluff Magazine, at http://news.bluffmagazine.com/ppa-ta...ac-in-dc-2551/ :
Many in the poker community wonder aloud what the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) does when it’s not handing out information at the World Series of Poker or fighting the Kentucky governor’s efforts to seize online poker domain names. With over one million dues-paying members, it’s not an unreasonable question, though all one has to do is look on Capitol Hill or wherever government officials congregate to see PPA representatives hard at work forging alliances and pushing for pro-poker legislation.
The PPA’s latest efforts were concentrated on some of the staunchest opponents of the organization’s goals. The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) began at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, February 26 with some of the most influential names in the conservative movement on the speaking agenda, such as John Bolton, Mike Huckabee, RNC Chairman Michael Steele, Tucker Carlson and Joe Scarborough, Bay and Pat Buchanan, and Joe the Plumber. And as the three-day conference got underway, the PPA made its presence known with a table at CPAC....
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/TheEngineer2008
