Witht the June 1 enforcement deadline fast approaching, PPA Executive Director John Pappas lays out a new strategy for dodging the UIGEA:
They\’re sending a petition around Congress requesting an exemption from the UIGEA for online poker and \”peer-to-peer\” games. Procedurally, this is similar to what got us that first six-month delay. And while it seems like a bit of a hail mary — starting off with just 22 signatures — if the PPA pulls this off it could be huge. Just guessing a bit here, but an exemption for poker, an ex post facto carveout essentially, seems like it would be a serious reversal of power akin to a middle pocket pair turning a set against an Ace-King that connected on the flop.
Haven\’t spoken to anyone about this yet, but I think the big telltale sign here will be whether or not Harry Reid gets on board. He\’s the guy other Dems (like my rep, Dina Titus, who recently signed on as a co-sponsor to the stalled Barney Frank bill) often look to for direction. Supposedly the rumors we\’ve been spreading about his support for online gambling (and a possible poker-only bill) have been \”greatly exaggerated\”. And if you recall, his longtime big supporters at the American Gaming Association want more online gambling for sure, but only after this June 1 D-day passes.