WASHINGTON, D.C. -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members nationwide, today expressed its disappointment that lawmakers will likely miss an opportunity to license and regulate online poker before the end of the 111th session of Congress.
"On behalf of the millions of Americans who play online poker, I am disappointed Congress has not acted to implement important licensing and regulation of this growing industry. Not only will this include valuable consumer protections, but it also will pump much needed funding and jobs into the weakened U.S. economy," said former Senator Alfonse D'Amato, chairman of the PPA. "It's a missed opportunity, pure and simple."
The PPA remains fully committed to its mission of establishing sensible laws that provide Americans with a safe, regulated environment in which to play poker, whether online or around the kitchen table. At the federal level the PPA will continue to work closely with Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) who has taken a leadership role on this issue. The PPA will seek to correct some of the problems with draft legislation to ensure that players are treated fairly and that states are in a better position to immediately opt-in to the federal model. Additionally, PPA will be reaching out to the more than 100 new members of Congress who will be sworn in this January to educate them on the value of licensing and regulating online poker.
PPA's efforts in 2011 will not be limited to Washington, D.C. The organization will continue to identify legislative options to overturn the ridiculous anti-Internet gambling law in Washington State. We will also remain involved in the various state efforts to regulate the online game. Our commitments to the legal defense of poker players will remain a priority. The PPA will continue to assist the online players from Illinois who have been targeted by greedy lawyers seeking to exploit the laws. And, we will carry on with our efforts to advance the skill vs. chance debate in South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and other states and localities where this issue arises.
"While we are clearly disappointed that a law did not pass this year, 2010 was a year of tremendous progress for PPA and the online poker community. The progress we've made this year and the momentum of the past few weeks will only help as we continue to work with lawmakers at the state and federal levels to protect the rights of Americans to play the great game of poker in a safe, regulated, U.S. market," said John Pappas, executive director of the PPA.