E-Mail Congress!

From a Pocketfives Press Release:

NASHVILLE, TN – On May 25, 2006, the House Judiciary Committee approved the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act, a bill that would essentially eliminate the online gambling industry in the United States. This would include eliminating online poker, a game of skill. Supported by Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Senator John Kyl (R-AZ), the bill has caused great controversy across the industry. Recently, even online giant eBay has taken a stance on the issue, supporting the ban. The question still remains as to when the bill will be voted on, but in the meantime, PocketFives and the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) have teamed up to try and thwart these efforts.

On Thursday, June 15, 2006, PocketFives and the PPA are sponsoring Write Your Congressmen Day. For one day, PocketFives encourages all visitors to its site to access a feature that allows e-mails to be sent instantaneously to your Senators and Representatives. <READMORE>

---Editorial---

Poker is as American as, you guessed it, apple pie. Like Jazz and Baseball it is an American invention, tradition, and loved and enjoyed by millions of people both here at home and abroad. Very few people go through their lives without at some point sitting down at a kitchen table, pushing pennies around with bold bluffs and courageous calls, and for millions of Americans today this fun game of friendly competition has grown into a favorite hobby or even profession. Thousands of poker players are making their living today solely from the skillful application of talent and dedication to the game they love. These players range from household names like Doyle Brunson to the nameless pro grinding out a living playing 10/20 limit in California cardrooms. Why is it then, that when the same game of skill played by millions daily across the country is transported by ones and zeroes onto the internet Congress should sound the alarms of national crisis?</READMORE>

Despite the fact that poker players are everywhere, come from all walks of life and backgrounds, the vast majority of whom are responsible adults and take care of their families and care about their communities, for some reason a certain faction in our society persists in branding us as degenerates. The fact is that Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), the sponsor of H.R. 4777: The Internet Gambling Prohibition Act, is pushing a moralistic agenda to decide for all of us what is right and wrong. The bill is cloaked in issues of national security, regulation, and consumer protection, but don’t be fooled it is unequivocally a blanket ban of online gaming on the federal level. It’s right there in the title of the bill – “Prohibition Act”!

The bill is essentially an amendment to the Wire Act to cover “the internet and new technologies”, but it is more insidious that that. I for one do not believe any form of online gaming should be outlawed, but the wire act in is current form was aimed primarily at sports betting and numbers rackets. Well, now that Powerball is the biggest numbers racket in history that is not a big concern for government, but Goodlatte wants to expand the Wire Act to include ALL games of chance. From Rep. Goodlatte’s website:

“including interactive games on the Internet such as poker and blackjack, which may not clearly be included within the types of gambling currently made illegal by the Wire Act.”

Furthermore, under the current law, the Wire Act is aimed solely towards the bookmaker, since to prove a case against anyone, the government would have to prove that, “The person was "engaged in the business of betting or wagering" (compared with a casual bettor)”, H.R. 4777 would amend this to criminalize the act of placing a wager online for the individual. But wait, there’s more:

“Additionally, this legislation increases the maximum prison term for a violation of this Act from 2 years to 5 years.”

For those who shrug this off as a bunch of hot air that will have no affect due to lack of enforcement, the bill specifically calls for $10,000,000/year for “investigations and prosecutions regarding Internet gambling”. Now, 10 million dollars doesn’t go far on a government budget, but do you really want them spending YOUR tax dollars to come lock you up for playing cards in the privacy of your own home? Another wing of the enforcement of the bill is allowing government agencies to directly disable the hypertext links to online gaming sites through internet service providers. This vastly under-funded mandate would force ISPs and banks to bear the burden of being the morality police, which would not come cheaply. At the end of the day it would come home to roost with the American taxpayer.

What’s more frightening, it empowers the government to:

“Federal, state, tribal or local law enforcement may obtain injunctive or declaratory relief to restrain or prevent anyone from paying or assisting in the payment of bets or wagers or communicating information assisting in the placing of bets and wagers in violation of federal, state, tribal or local law.”

Which, as far as I can tell means they can seize funds at will. This is the part of the bill with real teeth. They may not succeed in locking many people up, or even really try, but with the a few clicks of a mouse they could seize billions of dollars.

Goodlatte has been pushing this bill since 1997, and this is the first time it has made it out of committee, which is a huge step forward in the legislative process and a huge step backwards for the freedom of the internet. Not only would this bill have dire implications for the online gaming industry, but it would set horrific precedents in terms of government intervention on the internet on such a large scale. It astonishes me that a conservative Republican from the state of Virginia, who probably daily sings the praises of the bygone dream of a Jeffersonian Republic would be so vehemently promoting such a direct invasion of government into our daily lives.

"That government is best which governs the least, because its people discipline themselves." – Thomas Jefferson

I urge everyone to get involved with this campaign by joining us in writing Congress on Thursday June 15th.

E-MailCongress!

Read an LA Times Editorial on the Online Gaming Ban

Read full Pocketfives Press Release

Read full Poker Players Alliance Press Release

Read the letter we are sending

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