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Weekly Update from Rich Muny, VP of Player Relations
Coming off last month’s bruising lame duck battle, from which the poker community emerged victorious, it seems hard to believe that the 2015 federal and state poker legislation battles have already begun. The fight for poker rights has always been a tough fight, but this year is shaping up to be the make or break year.
I encourage everyone to stay active and engaged, as it will take a united, motivated poker community to continue handing Sheldon Adelson and his minions defeat after defeat. Can I count on you to do your part?
And, of course, we at PPA wish you and yours a healthy and happy 2015!
PPA Litigation Support’s Year in Review
It is that time of the new year; time for a year-end review of the work of the PPA’s Litigation Support Network. As most of you know, the Litigation Support Network primary mission is to assist all members with legal questions and cases that concern poker players and home poker games. Quite a bit of time was spent on that this past year, as players had questions in numerous states. Litigation Support Director Patrick Fleming, an attorney in Portsmouth, NH, fielded dozens of inquiries over the year and reports that PPA was able to assist all those players in making sure that their poker games were not labeled crimes. This benefit is available to all PPA dues paying members as part of PPA’s work in organizing the poker community.
Another aspect of the Litigation Support Network is assisting in the drafting of proposed legislation. This past year, the LSN was involved in helping draft, amend or interpret legislation proposed in New Hampshire, Maryland, Missouri, Michigan, and even California. Though little poker related legislation made it all the way to the finish line last year, it is in the nature of legislation – at least in the current political climate – to have to be “aged” before we can get the votes. PPA hopes to see similar legislation put forward for consideration in 2015, hopefully in even more states. If a PPA member has an idea for legislation in their state, he or she should contact Mr. Fleming anytime for any help they may need with the art of proposed statute writing.
Of course, the headline-grabbing aspect of PPA’s Litigation Support Division is direct involvement in actual litigation, and there were a number of cases making news in 2014. Unfortunately, the year began with the failed attempt to get the US Supreme Court to consider the US v. DiCristina case. Many good people put a lot of effort into this request for an appeal, but the odds were always against us: the US Supreme Court rejects of 90% of the cases appealed to it. Still, the silver lining in all of that effort remains the unreversed opinion of the District Court judge that poker is indeed a game of skill. Now, if only more judges would agree that such a fact matters under the law, there is a solid precedent for a favorable ruling.
And, there were a couple of favorable rulings last year. The one that got the most notice, even being the focus of CBS Morning News, was in the state of Idaho. There, last May, cases against players in a local home game were dismissed after the judge found that poker was a game of skill and Idaho law, which both specifically bans poker but allows contests of skill, was too confusing. A similar result occurred in Minnesota in November. Both of those cases may be appealed, however, and so PPA continues to work with the dedicated local lawyers to help those players.
There is also an effort of particular note ongoing in Wisconsin. Last October local players, including PPA state director Steve Verrett, filed a lawsuit seeking a Declaratory Judgment that playing poker, a game of skill, is not banned by WI’s gambling laws. The PPA Litigation Support Network is working hand in hand with those players and their lawyers preparing the expert testimony. A decision in that case should come next spring.
Finally, last year also included LSN Director Patrick Fleming being chosen to give a presentation on skill in poker to the North American Gaming Regulators Association. The planned one-hour presentation with another lawyer was well attended, went overtime, and by all accounts was the most popular presentation at the conference. Fleming was mobbed by regulators with questions after his presentation and took the time to get to know many of the people involved in regulating commercial poker around the country and getting their support for expansion of the game, live and online.
So, all in all, a busy year, and a year with more wins than losses. Can any poker player ask for more? Yes, let’s all hope that 2015 brings even more victories and even more opportunities.
Webcast: Poker Advocacy with Rich Muny
On this week’s Poker Advocacy with Rich Muny webcast, I was joined live by On Tilt Radio CEO & PPA CO State Director Robin Jones for a terrific chat on On Tilt Radio’s 2015 plans, the poker fight, and Sheldon Adelson’s lame duck session loss. You won’t want to miss this!
- Directly downloadable MP3 file (right click to save, left click to listen)
- Free iTunes download
Poker Advocacy with Rich Muny airs live Monday at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT on OnTilt Radio. Each show features great guests and the best discussion on poker legislation. Please be sure to tune in every Monday at www.ontiltradio.com.
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Thank you for your continued support!
The PPA wishes to keep active members like yourself updated on the latest poker advocacy news by periodically sending out select events and headlines. We hope you find it informative and thank you for your continuing support.
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