Today, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing to discuss the UIGEA regulations and the burden it imposes on the financial services industry.  By all accounts the hearing was a huge success that verified what the PPA and others have been saying all along: prohibition does not work.  It also reaffirmed our position that there is no federal statute that would preclude someone from playing a game of skill, like poker, on the Internet.  

While we in the poker community have been incensed by UIGEA’s trampling of personal freedoms, it was reassuring to hear from the banking community that from a practical standpoint UIGEA is completely unworkable and unreasonable.  The testimony of the banking witnesses was outstanding and very helpful to our goal by showing how the UIGEA is unenforceable.  

Even the regulators (the U.S Department of Treasury and the Federal Reserve Board) were not comfortable or willing to defend the proposed UIGEA regulation and conceded that the lack of clarity of what is an “unlawful internet gambling” transaction has made their job very difficult.

Most significant were the statements and questions from members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats, that were so critical of the UIGEA regulations and the underlying bill which was passed in 2006. One member of Congress even said that she voted for the UIGEA before, but would vote against it today.

The question of poker being a game of skill also got center stage at the hearing.  Rep. Wexler, the author of the Skill Game Protection Act (H.R. 2610), questioned why banks should be forced to block poker transactions when the person playing was clearly not violating any federal or, in many instances, state gambling laws.  The befuddled witness could only shrug her shoulders.  Rep. Wexler once again proved he is a champion for the poker community.

There was lots of great witness testimony and Congressional statements that I encourage you to read or watch.  We have provided all of this on our website.  

We also want to thank PPA members who encouraged their members of Congress who serve on the Sub-Committee to attend the hearing.  Rep. Gutierrez, the Sub-Committee Chairman, noted that this was one of the most well attended hearings he has chaired and one of the liveliest discussions he has seen in his Sub-Committee.

As always, the PPA will keep you informed and involved as this issue progresses.  We made great progress today and look forward to future success.

Author Contact Info: Poker Players Alliance