Online Poker Cheating Scandals Support Case for Government Regulation, Says PPA
UltimateBet's Annie Duke spoke before Congress last November on behalf of the PPA in support of government regulation.
Chairman of the Poker Players Alliance Senator Alfonse D’Amato has just issued a statement on behalf of the PPA addressing the online poker cheating scandals that haven't so much rocked the poker world as they've just provided good forum fodder for a small group of poker players at a website run by creepy old dudes while having absolutely no negative effect on the bottom line for the folks at Absolute Poker and UltimateBet.
In the statement, which will likely have all the efficacy of a Hans Blix letter to Kim Jong-Il, D’Amato calls for officials at AP, UB and the Kahnawake Gaming Commission to "provide a full and transparent accounting of these breaches of the public trust to help lift the black cloud that has been placed over the industry."
D'Amato then argues that the abuses by insiders at both AP and UB show the need for government regulation as it is the government's "basic responsibility" to "provide assurances" to consumers.
Says D'Amato:
"The recent cheating scandals underscore the need for U.S. licensing and regulation of online poker to help protect consumers" . . .“The federal government cannot continue to abdicate this basic responsibility to millions of its citizens who choose to play poker on the Internet. The attempt to enforce an outright prohibition of online poker is deeply flawed and unworkable, not to mention it invades upon the personal freedoms of law-abiding adults who wish to engage in a game of skill."
For what Ultimate Bet spokesperson Annie Duke said before Congress on behalf of the PPA last November go here.
Related stories:
:: Russ Hamilton Has Some Explaining To Do About UltimateBet Super User Accounts:: BREAKING: 60 Minutes Interviews Mark Seif, Mike Sexton, Greg Raymer on Online Poker Cheating Scandal
:: Mark Seif on Absolute Poker Scandal: "I Had Nothing To Do With This"
:: Absolute Poker Says 'Geek' Employee Hacked System, Unicorns are Real
Full statement by D'Amato after the jump . . .
Its already legal, kid dynamite. They want to crack down on the rules in place already, I believe.
Posted by: captive insurance | January 27, 2011 at 09:13 PM
obviously, i'm in favor of legalizing online poker, but this is a HORRIBLE argument on the PPA's part... it's the equivalent of saying the government should legalize and regulate crack cocaine because people kill each other to get it... completely absurd.
Posted by: kid dynamite | July 22, 2008 at 03:17 PM