For Immediate Release

Congressional
Hearing Dispels Internet Poker Myths 

~ Annie Duke delivers
impassioned testimony to the Judiciary Committee ~
 

Washington, D.C.
(November 14, 2007) – Yesterday the House Judiciary Committee, which has key
jurisdiction over Internet gaming matters, held a hearing to discuss the
inconsistencies with U.S policy.  On behalf
of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), Annie Duke testified along with experts on
international trade, age-verification technology and representatives from the
Departments of Justice and Treasury. 
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Chairman Conyers and members of the Committee, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to testify before your committee. I am doing so as an American citizen who is concerned about personal freedom and personal responsibility. I am also here to express the views of the nearly 800,000 Americans who belong to the Poker Players Alliance.
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Poker Pro Annie Duke will testify before the House Judiciary Committee

Tomorrow the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing to examine the United States policies as they relate to Internet gaming. Annie Duke, one of the top poker players in the world will testify before the Committee on behalf of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA).
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The PPA would like
to invite any members in the area who are interested in this hearing to
attend.  Annie Duke will testify on our
behalf.  This hearing will be very
crowded, so if you do decide to attend, please plan to arrive early. 

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY

NOTICE OF HEARING
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This has been an exciting week for poker and I have several items of good news to report.

First, I am pleased to announce that Rep. John Conyers (MI) Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee has agreed to co-sponsor H.R. 2046, the Skill Game Protection Act.  Further, his Committee officially announced today that they are holding a hearing next week (Nov. 14th) to discuss Internet gaming issues.  Both of these considerable achievements can be in a large part credited to our grassroots fly-in from just two weeks ago.  During the fly-in we had more than one occasion to meet with the Chairman and explain our issues.  He was so impressed with our arguments that he asked Annie Duke to testify at the Committee hearing.  While the other witnesses have not been made public at this time, I can tell you that there will be experts to discuss the WTO, age-verification, the proposed regulations and problem gambling.  Click here for more info on the hearing, we encourage our members who live in the Washington, D.C. area to attend.   
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Recently, Governor Deval Patrick proposed a bill (H.4307, click here to read) that seeks to expand casino gambling in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This bill also includes a proposition that would make it a crime for you to play poker on the Internet (See: Section 15(h)(2)(i)). Under this provision, violators will be subject to a maximum term of 2 years in the house of correction, a fine of $25,000, or both. Ironically, H.4307 is pro-casino gambling legislation, yet it makes Internet gaming a crime. This is an unacceptable double-standard!
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Governor Ernie Fletcher’s election-year decision to oppose a statewide referendum on the issue of casino gaming in the commonwealth has drawn the ire of the state’s poker players, as Fletcher’s position includes opposition to poker rooms.
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Wow! What an amazing three days poker had in Washington D.C. And the momentum is continuing to build.

From Oct 22 – 24, nearly 100 PPA members including some of the top professional poker players converged on Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers and defended your right to play online poker. By all accounts the Washington Fly-In and policy conference was a huge success and we made a significant impression on Congress and the media.
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• PPA UIGEA Talking Points
  
• Federal Reserve Web Comment
• Treasury Department Web Comment
• Other methods to comment
  

On October 1st, the Department of the Treasury and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve issued proposed regulations which, if finalized, would direct banks, credit card companies and other payment systems to take certain steps to block payments for “Unlawful Internet Gambling.” These regulations are an outgrowth of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) which was enacted last October.
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