It’s been an eventful week for the online poker community. On Wednesday, the House Financial Services Committee struck down HR 5767, a bill proposed by Ron Paul and Barney Frank that would have paved the way for legalized and regulated online poker in the United States. The hearing on Wednesday was composed of many interested members of the internet gambling community. Among them was the Poker Players Alliance, the main industry lobbying group for online poker. PPA Executive Director John Pappas joins the PocketFives Podcast this week to discuss the setback and examine the future of the industry in the U.S.

An amendment proposed by Congressman Peter King (R-NY) called for the U.S. Federal Reserve and Treasury to work with the Department of Justice to solidify definitions of what gambling online is legal and what is illegal. When the amendment came up for a vote, it was defeated by virtue of a 32-32 tie, split mostly along party lines. Pappas comments on the proceedings: “I think once Peter King’s amendment was defeated, we know that it [would be the end] for the bill itself. I think that the 32-32 vote showed that Congress is still a little confused on this issue. As our opponents continued to debate this issue in the Committee, they never really spoke about the merits of the UIGEA or enforcing it. Instead, it was all about the perceived societal ills associated with gambling. The debate moved squarely away from the UIGEA regulations and into a moral discussion. As you can see, the vote went 32-32 and because of that tie, it was defeated. Unfortunately, I think we have a number of Republicans that are eager to support us. Over the past couple of days, these emotional arguments have won out.”

Despite HR 5767’s defeat, there are still four internet gambling bills currently in Congress, including HR 2046, proposed by Frank. As such, it’s business as usual for the PPA: “We’re going to continue to press on. Internet gambling has taken its lumps and pressed on before. The one thing I would like to see is a better effort from the poker playing community to reach out to members of Congress and tell them they care about this vote. If these members of Congress who voted against this don’t hear from their constituents, then they won’t think there are any repercussions for voting this way. We need to do a good job to make sure that those members of Congress who opposed us hear from their constituents.” Pappas also emphasized that it’s important to let the 32 Congressmen who voted for the amendment know that you approve of their decision.

In terms of the legal process in the United States, Wednesday’s hearing was a “mark-up” discussion. Pappas explains in layman’s terms what that means: “A bill is introduced and then referred to a committee. The committee holds hearings on the bill and then it goes through the process of marking up a bill. This gives every member of the committee a chance to add amendments and make changes to the underlying bill. In this case, HR 5767 was introduced following a hearing on April 2nd and was brought up for mark-up today. It was believed that this compromised amendment by Mr. King would earn the support needed to pass. We didn’t believe that HR 5767 as drafted would have passed.”

If you’re one of the many PocketFivers headed out to Las Vegas for the 2008 World Series of Poker, make sure to stop by the PPA’s poker advocacy booth located just outside of the Amazon Room. Pappas talks about what the booth features: “The PPA has been at the World Series and we’ve set up an advocacy booth. Poker players and the general public can register to vote, send letters to their members of Congress, learn about our organization, and learn about the fight to protect online poker.” In addition, a cavalcade of poker celebrities have turned up each day to sign autographs and get the booth buzzing: “Everyone from Daniel Negreanu to Barry Greenstein to Howard Lederer and Chris Ferguson and Andy Bloch, just to name a few, has come to our booth to hold autograph signings and also signal their support for the PPA and our mission. The autographs are free, but we encourage people to register to vote or send letters to Congress. We’ve sent over 1,000 letters.”

Catch the rest of Pappas’ breakdown of the future of the online poker industry this week on the PocketFives Podcast. Thank you to Pappas for calling in less than an hour after the Committee hearing. Visit the PPA website for more information.