A lot of different groups seem to have their fingers in the online gambling/poker pie these days. Kinda funny, because right now most Obama-admin efforts seem to be about stopping it, or at least making the process of winning a main event seat on PokerStars more difficult.
Yet at the same time, momentum in Congressional circles seems to be going the other way — with more money being spent on online gambling-related lobbying than ever before, and not coincidentally, a growing number of congressfolk suddenly on board with the cause.
But when it comes to hammering out a future for our specific special interest — licensed and regulated online poker — the Poker Players Alliance is hardly the only group claiming to speak on our behalf. The AGA, iMega, various Native American interests, the NTRA (horse racing) and the American Horse Council … they all want seats at the lawmaking table, too. However, the PPA is the only group specifically focussed on poker, that was built by poker players, and operates in Washington DC with poker community and industry interests foremost in mind.
Thus …
The PPA Poker Moneybomb
On July 1st, the PPA will be launching an unprecedented 1-day fundraising drive with the goal of raising $50,000 in support of our advocacy and grassroots efforts. We are asking all loyal poker supporters to make a donation to the PPA — even if it\’s just $5 — on July 1st.
Love or hate Obama-driven reform, with health care out of the way, \”financial overhaul\” is next on the agenda. And the man spearheading this effort is poker\’s ole friend Barney Frank, who has the ability and interest to make sure online gambling is — or is not — part of that political conversation.
Supposedly financial overhaul isn\’t gonna be some years-long endeavor like health care; instead Congress is ready to push things along as quickly as possible, getting the main bill to Obama\’s desk in like a month, they say … or at least before November\’s elections.
That\’s why the PPA (imho) is circling its financial wagons now in preparation for a \”surge\” … and why poker players should want to help them.
You can be sure that online casino, online sports betting, Indian tribe, state lottery, and even right-wing morality-based special interest groups are all ready to deploy their resources as needed. And while the PPA has shown with its million-plus social-media-savvy membership that it can be one of the loudest advocacy groups among them … at four years old they are still the smallest financially and least-established in DC circles of influence.
So while the PPA has vociferously made the anti-UIGEA case since its inception, now that Washington is ready to move on related matters, there are plenty of folks claiming to be poker allies who\’d be more than happy to take over from here — and not necessarily because they envision the same licensed and regulated online poker future that you do.
As the messy business of re-writing law, bargaining for amendments, and negotiating line-item compromise heats up in July, this could prove to be a critical time. And the last thing poker players should want now is to see the PPA stuck at the kiddie table.
Again, PPA Poker Moneybomb, July 1 … pretty sure this is how the big kids do it.
