PPA president claims poker could be exempt from UIGEA
As the new-look Congress begins to exert its authority over a number of issues, Poker Players Alliance (PPA) president has revealed that there may be light at the end of the tunnel for US players.
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) put paid to legal online gambling in the US when it was passed last year by the Bush administration, but PPA chief Michael Bolcherek is hopeful that this may soon change.
The PPA was nearing the introduction of a bill that could result in online poker being exempted from the ruling, he revealed.
“Poker should be exempt under the new law and that exemption is our primary goal. I have spent a good portion of January in Washington, DC, meeting with lawmakers and others to get support for legislation that would provide a “skill game” exemption for poker,” revealed Mr Bolcherek in an open statement published in Bluff Magazine.
Although a recent court case in the UK ended with the jury deciding that poker could not be categorised as a skill game, Mr Bolcherek was still hopeful of a positive resolution.
The PPA president advised that the organisation would be using grassroots support to speak to congressmen in their home districts, and added that other countries had shown that regulation was the “only proven public policy” when it came to online gambling.