When the United States Senate passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act at the 11th hour last fall by unanimous consent, the Congressional body had little knowledge of the issue itself. Attached as a rider to the Safe Port Act, the UIGEA ushered in a climate of turmoil and uncertainty in the online gambling world. With the proposed regulations released in October, the Poker Players Alliance is seeking your input as part of a federally-mandated comment period.

PPA Executive Director John Pappas explains the existence of a comment period: “This is part of the democratic process in which we operate. The Federal Government can impose rules and regulations, but they must do so in a way that allows the American public to comment on them. When they introduced the proposed UIGEA regulations in early October, there were a number of problems. What we’ve been doing is encouraging PPA members and poker players everywhere to write to the Federal Government and point out the issues with their regulation.”

So what are the shortcomings with the UIGEA regulations? Here are five flaws taken from the PPA’s website:

1. The proposed regulations should be modified to clarify that they don’t cover games predominantly determined by skill, such as poker, bridge, mahjong and backgammon. Section 5362(1)(a) of UIGEA defines a bet or wager as “the staking or risking by any person of something of value upon the outcome of a contest of others, a sporting event, or a game subject to chance,…” “Subject to chance” can be interpreted in a variety of ways, but in a gambling context it should reasonably be taken to mean games like roulette or slots where players bet against “the house” and success is determined by chance. Poker players compete, not against the house, but against each other, and the success of a player over any significant time interval is determined by that players’ skill.

2. The regulators must define what is and isn’t “unlawful Internet gambling.” The federal and state laws governing Internet gambling are very ambiguous — nearly all of them were written before the advent of the Internet, and it is not clear how they apply to Internet gaming. In the proposed rule, the regulators emphasize that it is not their intention to clarify this question, because to do so would require them to examine the laws of every state with respect to every gaming modality. Yet that is exactly what they are requiring every bank and payment system to do individually.

3. The regulators should refrain from implementing the regulations until the U.S. resolves its international trade disputes. The World Trade Organization has found the U.S. to be out of compliance with its obligations under the General Agreement on Trade in Services because of its attempts at prohibiting Internet gambling. This is likely to cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars in lost market share and export opportunities. The U.S. government is in negotiations with its trading partners over this matter. Inasmuch as these regulations arguably make that situation worse, the regulators should hold off on finalizing the regulations until the U.S. can resolve its international trade obligations.

4. The proposed regulations should not infringe on personal privacy. UIGEA deputizes banks and payment systems and turns them into the Internet morality police. These regulations should not compel banks to scrutinize the private transactions of individual poker players and others. To do so is hostile to the personal and financial privacy of every American with a credit card or checking account.

5. The UIGEA and the enforcing regulations should not apply to Internet poker nationwide. Federal case law has consistently held that the Wire Act applies only to sports betting and very few states have any laws against Internet poker. These regulations should be clear to only block those transactions which are in fact against the law. Games of skill which are not outlawed under current federal law – such as poker, chess, bridge and majong — should be exempt from the UIGEA and the regulations.

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Maybe Dallas wouldn’t be ranked as the 34th most dangerous city in America if Dallas police weren’t devoting precious resources to raiding friendly poker games played by veterans. In his latest video for Reason.tv, Drew Carey examines a paramilitary-style raid on a poker game at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1837 in Dallas, which has now been forced to close its doors.

“Poker is about as American as baseball and apple pie,” Carey says in theReason.tv video. “It was born here in America. Mark Twain loved it. He’s a great American. Until recently, Supreme Court justices had a monthly game. They’re great Americans. You’d think playing poker in a VFW hall would be about as American as anything you could do.”

“This story highlights the hypocrisy that surrounds gambling in this country,” said Nick Gillespie, editor of Reason.tv. “States will gladly take your hard-earned money if you want to play the government’s lottery. But if you sit down with some veterans to play Texas hold ‘em you may end up with cops, in full riot gear, busting down your door. No one gets hurt when consenting adults sit down for a game of cards. And there’s no reason for the government to get involved.”

The busted poker players have a court date on December 5, 2007.

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A raid of an illegal poker den early Friday resulted in the arrest of four people for gambling and drug offenses, authorities said.

The 12:15 a.m. raid at 18 Berkshire Place came after neighbors complained to the Englewood Cliffs police about suspicious activity at that address, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said.

Undercover detectives from Molinelli’s office infiltrated the gambling den and observed that high-stakes games of Texas hold ‘em were being played there from 10 p.m. until dawn six nights a week, the prosecutor said. The organizers were taking a cut from each game played — a practice that distinguishes illegal poker from a cordial game of cards among friends.

The raid came nearly a month after Frank DeSena, 55, of Wayne, was shot to death in an armed robbery at a high-stakes underground poker club in a Manhattan office building. A Bronx man was charged with the crime, but he was released after prosecutors in Manhattan declined to present the case to a grand jury.

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With Hanukkah beginning Tuesday night, Jews can look forward to the annual rituals of menorah-lighting, blessings, gift-giving – and gambling.
more stories like this

In some Jewish homes, not only do children risk a stash of chocolate or goodies spinning the dreidel, but their parents play kvitlech, similar to blackjack. According to Dwayne Carpenter, Boston College scholar and a man who enjoys an occasional hand of blackjack and poker, Hanukkah card-playing was a traditional cover for Torah study, which had been outlawed for Jews by a Syrian-Greek king in the second century BCE.

With the Massachusetts Legislature bracing for a debate over casino gambling, endorsed by Governor Deval Patrick, several religious leaders, including Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, have spoken out against the proposal. Others are readying organized opposition to the proposal. It is interesting to note that the objectors include some from religions with a historical tolerance for certain games of chance.

“Both the Catholic and Jewish traditions traditionally set aside days for gambling,” said Carpenter, who as chairman of BC’s Romance Languages and Literature Department seems at first blush an unlikely authority on the subject. But he’s also a practicing Jew who read religious legal texts about gambling during a stint in law school. Last month, he was among the specialists addressing a BC conference on gambling and theology.

When he lived in New York City, he often played kvitlech when visiting Jewish friends during Hanukkah, he said.

Tolerance of Hanukkah gambling did not extend throughout the year to all games; the Talmud disqualified gamblers from serving as witnesses in legal proceedings.

In the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church encouraged adherents to gamble on holy days. Carpenter cited one medieval treatise that suggested Christmas as an apt gaming day, because “it is a holy day on which everyone should rejoice in his home.”

“It’s not fair to say that the religious authorities were enthusiastic about gambling throughout the year. But it was seen to be a way to . . . add to the merriment of an already joyous occasion,” he said.

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Part 3 in the politics of online poker continuing series from Gene Bromberg. Online US poker players are 30 million plus strong and over 21. Politicians can hear large voting blocks very clearly. Gene Bromberg is writing for everyone that wants online poker legalized, so read it, talk about it, pass it around…let them hear you!

The push to legalize online gaming took center stage in Washington back on November 14th as the House Judiciary Committee convened a hearing entitled “Establishing Consistent Enforcement Policies in the Context of Online Wagers.” Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) invited both proponents and opponents of online gambling to give testimony, and among the panelists was Tom McClusky, who is the Vice-President of Government Affairs for the Family Research Council. The FRC is a Christian, right-wing lobbying organization that, according to its website, “champions marriage and family as the foundation of civilization, the seedbed of virtue, and the wellspring of society”.

So the FRC likes marriage and family. What the FRC doesn’t like is rather a longer list. The FRC anathematizes homosexuality, saying that “FRC does not consider homosexuality an alternative lifestyle or sexual ‘preference’; it is unhealthy and destructive to individual persons, families, and society”. The FRC claims that pornography is “closely linked to an increase in prostitution, child prostitution, and human trafficking” and urged the Department of Justice to prosecute people who view adult movies in hotel rooms, believing that this violates U.S. laws governing distribution of obscene materials. The FRC believes that the only manner of sex education that should be taught is abstinence, and it also supports the teaching of intelligent design in schools and believes the Theory of Evolution is mere “dogma”.

And, of course, the FRC is staunchly opposed to gambling, In a statement sent out this week by one of their “prayer teams” the FRC, in addition to calling for it’s members to pray for “the Peace of Jerusalem” and to pray that a no-spanking law in Massachusetts is defeated, also asked members to pray that “sufficient numbers of Americans from every state will oppose these efforts to legalize internet gambling. May they be defeated with sufficient strength that this will not become an annual fight!”

So this is what we’re up against–an organization that supports families, marriage and parent-on-child spanking, but is vehemently opposed to single people, gay people, sex, gambling, and the scientific method. And a lot of other things that I don’t have the space or time to list at the moment.

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When it comes to gaming, what’s legal and what’s not?
Tuesday night’s bust at the former Rarebird Records in Genesee Township, where 30 people were arrested and ticketed, got us wondering.

Investigators say an illegal poker operation was being run.

If all of the money collected goes to a charitable organization, it’s legal if it’s licensed through the state.

(more…)

The betting was low-stakes, but an Elks Club in Gambrills could lose its liquor license after police found a group of men playing Texas Hold ‘em poker in a back room of the lodge.

After receiving a tip about illegal gambling for at least the second time in a year, police officers entered the Bowie Elks Club on Defense Highway on Aug. 13 and found eight men around a casino-style poker table in a game room. Police seized about $400 in cash and notified the men that they could face criminal charges.

Such charges haven’t materialized, but the men – along with the leadership of the Elks Club – have been summoned to appear before the Anne Arundel County Liquor Board on Dec. 11 for gambling and illegal-conduct violations. An attorney representing the liquor board said the lodge could face a fine and suspension or revocation of its liquor license.

Despite its popularity, playing poker for money is against the law in Maryland. The same game that helped Severn accountant Steve Dannenmann win $4.25 million in 2005’s World Series of Poker has also resulted in raids and arrests across the state.

“Many people think if it’s a closed environment that it’s OK, when in fact it’s not,” said Sgt. Sara Schriver, a spokeswoman for the Anne Arundel County Police Department.

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Three Genesee County businessmen have been arrested. They are accused of running an illegal gambling ring.

Tuesday night, investigators raided the former Rarebird Records store located in the 4000 Block of Richfield Road in Genesee Township.

The game investigators say they men were running illegally was Texas Hold ‘Em. Tuesday, police ran an operation of their own called Texas Fold ‘Em, busting 30 people for taking part in the illegal gambling room.

Police arrested and ticketed 27 people that were inside, and also seized their vehicles.

Three men who investigators say were allegedly running the operation also had their homes searched in Burton, New Lothrop and Genesee Township.

Inside, investigators say they found gaming tables, cards, cash, computers and chips. The raid was part of a two-month undercover investigation.

The Genesee County prosecutor says these are not just your average get-together card games.

“These are not little poker games,” said Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton.

“These are games that have been advertised, organized and there’s lots of money that’s being distributed in these games. And these folks are clearly violating the law and they are putting a crimp in the economy.”

None of those arrested were taken to the Genesee County Jail. The owner of the building did not want to comment on the case right now.

The prosecutor is still waiting on additional paperwork from the Genesee Township Police Department before charging the owners.

If they are convicted of running an illegal gambling room, they could spend up to 10 years in prison.

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The following are popular tools to help connect members and facilitate communications:

Hosting Meetings and Networking with others

http://www.meetup.com/

Hosting Conference Calls
http://www.rondee.com/index.php

Creating Mailing Lists
http://www.innercircle.cc/auth.html#login

Creating a Resource Page
http://pbwiki.com/