Sunday, March 25, 2007

On Line Poker, Our Game, Our Right

The fight the right to play online poker continues. The Poker Players Alliance has enlisted former Senator Alfonse D’Amato as chairman in it’s fight to repeal the ban on Americans playing poker over the internet. In it’s lobbying effort the Alliance is stressing the following:

Poker is one of the great American pastimes. The game has been enjoyed by presidents, generals, Supreme Court Justices, Members of Congress and average Americans for more than 150 years.

Poker is a game with a predominance of skill. Like chess, poker is a "thinking man's" game which relies on mathematics, psychology and money management.

Poker is a source of charity. In 2006, millions of dollars were raised for local and national charities through poker tournaments. One event in D.C. featuring 15 Members of Congress raised more than $288,000 to fight cancer.

Billions of tax revenue is being lost. According to an economic analysis, 3.3 billion in federal tax revenue and addition 1 billion in state tax revenue could be raised if the federal government were to regulate Internet poker.

75 percent of Americans oppose banning online poker. According to national polling, a vast majority of Americans oppose federal efforts to ban online poker.

Supporting an online poker ban can cost you an election. Exit polling has shown and the national media has noted that a leading advocate to ban Internet poker in the 109th Congress was negatively impacted by his leadership on the issue.

Those of us who love poker, or hate government interference in our lives can help by joining the PPA, it’s free, and writing your Congressional Representatives asking this restriction on your freedom be repealed.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

*****
Billions of tax revenue is being lost. According to an economic analysis, 3.3 billion in federal tax revenue and addition 1 billion in state tax revenue could be raised if the federal government were to regulate Internet poker.
******

I HATE this rationalization for anything. The government should just stay the hell out of it.

Anonymous said...

Unless one wants to argue that government shouldn't tax anything, the argument about potential tax revenues for on line poker makes sense. In any event, I see no public good achieved by trying to ban on line poker that is worth taking the way that freedom.

It may be interesting when the US action against off shore gambling sites reaches the WTO. The WTO may actually rule against the US on this. What will the US do in response.

Anonymous said...

I agree with the legislation which aims to ban credit cards as a payment method for online gambling of any sort... and i think it should be enforced worldwide – not just in America. In fact, gambling with a credit card should be banned full stop. Not just on the internet. It’s a no brainer when you consider you are placing backing the outcome of an uncertain event with somebody else’s money. Chance and credit do not mix well in my opinion, and continuing to allow it would only contribute further in negatively affecting the high levels of personal debt many citizens today find themselves in. I do however, think that the prohibition won't work; or at least it won’t be received well amongst gamblers - I mean what’s the point in banning a credit card payment made on an online poker game, for example, but continuing to allow online sports betting? Slightly hypocritical, no? I mean how can you allow someone to participate [with or without a credit card] in online horse racing betting, but not put any money on a hand of texas hold’em poker? both activities involve a large degree of chance, and neither are guaranteed to yield financial return.
What really infuriates me however, is that the minority of irresponsible gamblers [those paying with someone elses money!] have now ruined the fun of online betting for everyone else - those like me who pay with money they actually have in their bank!!
At least for the Americans there is always the free online poker games!

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