What can players do to fight for their rights? (Article)

[Instyle007]

Sorry if this was already posted.

There is a nice article here (http://www.pokerlistings.com/what-can-players-do-to-fight-for-their-rights) at PokerListings.com. It lists things people can do to fight back against this ridicules US law.

Although there are new groups coming out of the woodworks it seems like to help fight, I suggest sticking with the PPA.

If you care about poker please check out the article. Before the law passed a lot of people complained but did nothing, get up off your rear end and do something.

You may think that it’s of no use, well doing nothing will garner no results. If you try there’s at least potential for something good to happen.

[autobet]

GREAT ARTICLE...THANKS.

[addictontilt]

Link is NSFW, can someone post it please?

[autobet]

What can players do to fight for their rights?

1:27 PM, Wednesday, October 25, 2006 by Sarah Polson

The online poker industry seems to have gone into panic mode following the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). Many poker sites are exiting the U.S. market, leaving poker players scrambling to find new places to play and also wondering what they can do to fight the new law.

There are several ways players can join the battle against the UIGEA and have their voices heard in the matter. Some things you can do on your own are finding ways to contact your state's Congressmen and let them know your opinion of the bill.

At Congress.org, U.S. residents can look up who their representatives are and get their contact information such as phone numbers, addresses, and in some cases even an e-mail address.

When you contact your legislator, by whatever method, you should let them know that you're a voter in their state and that you oppose the UIGEA. Some other information you can add to make your point is that poker is a game of skill played by 70 million Americans and that prohibition hasn't worked in the past and Congress needs to instead seek to regulate online poker.

Another avenue of getting your voice heard is to sign a petition against the online gambling ban. So far Jim Perkins, a corporate/finance attorney in California, has managed to collect more than 11,000 signatures against the UIGEA through his online petition. You can sign the petition at www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?LOGNOW. (http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?LOGNOW.)

Eleven thousand signatures may sound like a lot, but when you think of the millions of people living in the United States who play poker online, or even the millions of Americans who believe that the UIGEA is an infringement on their personal rights, that number is just a tiny portion of what it should be. Not only can you help by signing the petition, you can help by spreading the word to other people.

These are just a handful of ways you can fight for your rights on your own. But it's rare that one person alone can make their voice heard in the U.S. government, so players need to take the next step and also join together in their efforts.

There are a few prominent groups out there fighting for players rights that players can join. The largest and most active at the moment is the Poker Players Alliance (PPA). This grassroots organization was started in Las Vegas to fight for poker players' rights and has grown to more than 100,000 members.

The PPA is active in Washington D.C. talking with senators and representatives. Their goal is to carve out an exemption in the new law for online poker because it is a game of skill rather than chance.

The National Right for Online Gaming was also formed in the past few months to help fight against an online gambling ban. To begin its efforts, the nonprofit group has focused on informing and education online gamblers and non-gamblers alike about the effects of the online gambling ban. They also hope to start take the fight more into the public rather than just through the legislature with educational ad campaigns.

If you're looking for another option, there is also the Poker Patriots. This group's mission is to provide players, operators and affiliates of the online gambling industry with tools, training, resources and support needed to fight the UIGEA. They will be working with communities and with other organizations like the PPA to band together to share information and strengthen the efforts against the UIGEA.

Just because President Bush signed the UIGEA into law as part of the SAFE Port Act doesn't mean the war is over. It's just one battle that Republican legislators won. If poker tournament play is any indication, poker players will certainly have the patience and stamina to make it through this cold streak in American poker and eventually battle back to being able to play poker legally online again.

Related articles:

Bush Signs Port Security, Online Gambling Bill
PPA Offers Hope, Plan of Attack
Official Statements from Your Favorite Poker Rooms
Petition Against Gambling Ban Has More Than 8,000 Signatures

[addictontilt]

Most of the people that have posted in this forum seem to agree on one thing - the PPA either is not doing enough, or is doing something, but nobody knows what. I lay blame entirely on the PPA and refuse to send my money to them, in principle. They are not communicating at all, and are not worth the $20 IMO. The other orgs I have looked at, but really do not have an opinion on them, thanks for posting the article

[ZBTHorton]

[ QUOTE ]
Most of the people that have posted in this forum seem to agree on one thing - the PPA either is not doing enough, or is doing something, but nobody knows what. I lay blame entirely on the PPA and refuse to send my money to them, in principle. They are not communicating at all, and are not worth the $20 IMO. The other orgs I have looked at, but really do not have an opinion on them, thanks for posting the article

[/ QUOTE ]

I was once of this belief, but if you read about things on this forum you'll find alot of stuff about the PPA.

I believe one poster who knows one of their lobbyists also posted a long interview he did with him. IMO. PPA is definitely worth 20$.

[addictontilt]

yep you are right ZB, I remember the post I think it was Hock, I guess what I am looking for is more direct communication, like a blog or something, I have seen press releases that they were putting out, but mostly they were coming out against the ban (duh) and I have not really seen anything since then. This is my primary issue is lack of info, Hocks post was awesome, and I thank him for the info, but shouldn't the info be coming directly from the PPA?

[ericicecream]

[ QUOTE ]
Most of the people that have posted in this forum seem to agree on one thing - the PPA either is not doing enough, or is doing something, but nobody knows what. I lay blame entirely on the PPA and refuse to send my money to them, in principle. They are not communicating at all, and are not worth the $20 IMO. The other orgs I have looked at, but really do not have an opinion on them, thanks for posting the article

[/ QUOTE ]

Best thing is to keep letting the PPA know we have these concerns. Either they will step up and address these concerns, or we will stop sending money.