PPA Talking Points on Internet Poker Cheating Scandals
Talking Points on Internet Poker Cheating Scandals The UB/AP cheating scandals represent a serious breach in public trust which cannot be condoned or defended. The Internet poker industry has been in existence for nearly 10 years and these are isolated cases of companies cheating their customers. This is not a rogue industry; most Internet poker companies are regulated in their jurisdictions (such as the United Kingdom and Alderney) and do provide significant levels of protection for players. This is an industry built on trust and few would sacrifice their customer’s confidence for a short-term gain. Regulation provides a mechanism to protect consumers from those that choose to game the system. While not a silver bullet, regulation provides due process, independent review, recourse for victims and punishment for the guilty. Unfortunately for proponents of UIGEA, if the law was implemented at the time of these scandals, UIGEA would have called for zero fines, zero incarceration, or any other punishment to these two companies and perpetrators who tarnished an American pastime. Online poker would provide a regulatory authority much greater opportunity for transparency, legal compliance, and fraud detection. All online poker websites keep detailed data on all games and run trend reports. Each site will also keep detailed hand histories of each player. Such reports and data collection are what tipped off seasoned poker players to the scandals at UB and AP and fortunately, the cheating was exposed. Legislative efforts spearheaded by Reps. Barney Frank (H.R. 2046) and Robert Wexler (H.R. 2610) in the U.S. House and Sen. Robert Menendez (S.3616) in the U.S. Senate seek to put the U.S. in charge of safeguarding its citizens by licensing and regulating Internet poker. These bills will require sites to undergo regular audits to detect fraud and abuse, employ effective technologies to deny underage access and provide services for problem gamblers. Reputable Internet poker sites and a growing number of the American land-based casino industry welcome the opportunity for Internet poker to become licensed, taxed and regulated in the U.S. The more than 1 million members of the Poker Players Alliance and the millions of other online poker players in the U.S. are urging our government to do the same. Regulation of Internet poker does not equal an expansion of gambling in this country. Like it or not, the phenomenon of internet poker cannot be wished away. The American market has spoken. There is strong demand for Internet poker and no reasonable government can or should stand in the way of adults competing in games of skill on the Internet. To the contrary, the government should step up and exercise regulatory oversight on this multi-billion dollar interstate commerce, and collect the revenue—especially during this country’s economic crisis. Official estimates conclude that the tax revenue from regulated online poker could generate billions in federal tax revenue. With a rising government deficit, we should welcome the opportunity for an entire new industry to help offset the nation’s growing debt.
