With health-care reform dominating the airwaves this week, you'd be forgiven for not knowing that it is also National Poker Week. Dozens of dedicated players have descended on the Hill over the past few days to argue for the federal regulation of online poker. The Poker Players Alliance contends that poker should not be subject to the stringent regulations applied to other forms of online gambling because theirs is a game of skill and strategy involving complex risk calculations. Most other forms of gambling, like slot machines, are simple matters of luck, they claim. While dealing cards introduces an element of chance, poker aficionados say beyond that, it is a game that rewards learning and analysis. They believe that the act of placing a bet is more akin to "making a move" in other games than it is to basic gambling.
On Tuesday night, the Poker Players Alliance held a charity poker tournament where several lawmakers, including Peter King (R-NY), Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA), Shelley Berkeley (D-NV) and Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), played alongside the game's greats, like Howard (The Professor) Lederer, Annie Duke, Greg Raymer and Dennis Phillips. Proceeds went to the Washington Metro USO. The Poker Players Alliance receives a significant amount of support from veterans, particularly wounded and disabled vets who often find it difficult to get to casinos. An Army sergeant beat out the pros to win the tournament, netting a trip to Las Vegas.
In other lobbying activities this week, players told members of Congress thateffective regulation would offer consumer protection and prevent minorsfrom playing. Additionally, taxing poker sites could earning thegovernment a healthy revenue stream: one estimate valued the U.S. pokermarket at $1.5 billion.
The poker lobby has significant support on the Hill, including from House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, who is sponsoring legislation on the issue. There is some resistance, mainly from conservatives who worry about the morality of gambling and believe that easy access to online poker encourages problem gamblers. Some are concerned that online gambling contributes to the deterioration of the family, as parents spend more and more time at home absorbed in online tournaments. But the biggest problem for poker enthusiasts appears to be an already crowded legislative agenda. Frank has pushed his bill off until September.
