Lobbyists working to stack the deck in favor of fewer online poker rules

By CARRIE WELLS, McClatchy News Service

Last update: July 21, 2009 - 8:12 PM

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WASHINGTON - Poker players are gambling on Congress seeing things their way.

Advocates for legalizing online poker have descended on Washington this week for a lobbying blitz that's supposed to last until Friday. They're betting they can overturn or at least ease federal laws that generally bar Internet gambling.

They're seeking regulation of Internet gaming, a change they say would reduce compulsive and underage gambling, according to John A. Pappas, the executive director of the Poker Players Alliance, whose slogan is "Poker is Not a Crime."

Members of his organization plan to meet with 100 members of Congress from 35 states this week and were to host a charity poker tournament Tuesday night benefiting the USO and the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. They've enlisted the help of famous poker players such as Annie Duke, Andy Bloch and Howard Lederer.

Among those pushing legislation is Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, who sees the measure as consumer protection and a revenue source, since winnings could be taxed.

Pappas kicked off the lobbying effort Monday by hosting a panel to promote the benefits of lifting the gambling ban.

However, Rep. Spencer Bachus of Alabama, the top Republican on the House committee, condemned the gambling legislation. "Illegal off-shore Internet gambling sites are a criminal enterprise, and allowing them to operate unfettered in the United States would present a clear danger to our youth, who are subject to becoming addicted to gambling at an early age," he said.

Regulation, however, wouldn't only protect children by instituting age-identifying software, but also would keep players from being defrauded by shady sites or other players, Pappas and other panelists said.

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