BestCraps.com

Bills Hidden Clause Banning Internet Gambling Sets Off Assembly Of Thousands Of PPA Members In Massachusetts

Posted on April 15th, 2010

News Sponsored by Online Vegas Casino

Rated 5 Stars by BestCraps.com

Read Review

Visit Casino

Download Software

————————————————

The Poker Players Alliance announced that 5 hours of non-stop emailing to protest the ban on Internet gambling that has been included in House Speaker Robert DeLeo’s gambling proposals have successfully activated the more or less 25,000 poker players in Massachusetts that prompted politicians to ask the PPA to “call off the dogs.” This shows that US poker players have enough influence and authority to plead their case before their politicians.

The bill allowing for two land-based casinos that has been debated by Massachusetts legislators has caught the interest of online gambling advocates and online poker players because of a text found on one of the pages of the bill that makes Internet gambling and online poker illegal.

PPA executive director John Pappas wants to believe that the politicians could be innocent and the small clause banning online gambling could have been mistakenly left in the bill as a remnant of two failed attempts to introduce land casinos in the state in the past years. “It could be a cut-and-paste job, for lack of a better term, and ended up in the bill without the drafters recognizing there would be such a public outcry over its inclusion,” Pappas said.

Legislators have given their word to the PPA that the ban would be excluded from the current legislation. “We received commitments that the language would come out as high as the speaker’s office,” Pappas disclosed. “But until the language is out of the bill, we’re a little gun-shy to say we achieved victory.” If the bill with the online gambling clause becomes law, it would have an effect on the state’s opportunity to profit from Barney Frank’s bill to legalize online gambling at the federal level, should Frank’s proposal be approved. “It certainly is odd,” Pappas said. “We sent a letter this week to chairman Dempsey (of the Massachusetts Economic Development Committee) that highlighted that point. Not only is Barney Frank leading the effort to license and regulate it in Washington, but by doing this it would almost preclude Massachusetts from being part of that regulated structure — and eliminate the opportunity to receive tax revenue from it — if Frank is successful in his bill.”

As luck would have it, Barney Frank is a Democratic congressman from Massachusetts. DeLeo’s bill, which also called for slots at the state’s four race tracks was strongly debated for 11 hours on Tuesday where House members rejected a number of proposed amendments, and after which the House agreed to take a recess. The House could probably vote on the bill on Wednesday, and proceedings for that day could shed light on the fate of the online gambling clause. If approved in the House, the measure will then advance to the Senate where it is expected to have an easier time since the Senate president is a casino proponent.