The 2+2 Forum Archives: Meeting with Senator Rockefeller Office June 22

First let me say, he is against gambling such as sports wagering, slots and such.

I was expecting a 5 minute meeting and it ended up lasting a little more than 30 minutes. That was encouraging as there developed real interest in this whoole mess.

However, given that there are many 'SKILL' games that Kyl and that group NEVER told anyone about, a door has been opened, a little.

He is most upset that a treaty obligation is being broken and the reality now is it should be a Senate issue since this is their domain so to speak.

At the end of the meeting a comment was made to me; "if this was not so serious it would be comical a game of cards can cause such a international problem". I of course agreed. It would be comical if it were not really to important now given the developments.

Following is the letter I hand delivered that in turn is being taken back to Washington along with notes made during our talk.

NOTE: When I mention in the letter the sites, actual screen printouts were included.

MY NAME HERE
XXXXXXXXXX
WV
Ph. XXX XXX XXXX
E-Mail oldbookguy@verizon.net

Honorable John D. Rockefeller IV
531 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-4802

Honorable Rockefeller,

I am well aware members of the Senate and House of Representatives are quit busy with matters of true importance to our country (and myself) such as immigration, tax issues, social security and more.

Sadly a simple card game is about to add to an already full plate. This need not be the case however.

I wrote you some time back concerning my opposition to UIGEA / Safe Ports Act and at that time you expressed support for the UIGEA. My opposition to the UIGEA is not the act itself. Rather it is the confusion it has caused and the unintended consequences.
To quote Rep. Peter King, a sponsor and supporter of the UIGEA legislation he said in essence; “We never intended poker to be included”. Mr. King is now a co-sponsor of several bills introduced in the House to rectify this. These however are not needed and I will apparent to clarify this as to why.

As I am sure your office is now aware we recently lost the final hearing before the WTO concerning the Cross Border Supply of Gaming Services. As a result we (the U.S.) have decided to no longer fight this. Instead the Bush administration has decided to take the unprecedented step and simply withdraw from that portion of the GATS – WTO agreement we signed under President Clinton.
Following this decision Antigua, the E.U. (communities), India and Japan have all now filed claims against the U.S. over our failure to honor the agreement we signed allowing this, WTO Schedule 964, sub section 9649.
Billions of dollars in trade sanctions against American companies are now at stake.

This need not be the case. As with all matters simple solutions do exist if parties are truly willing to compromise and look at matters in a rational way.

Concerning the UIGEA I believe Rep. Bachus from Alabama said it best, “The UIGEA only affects that which is already illegal” which brings me to a simple solution for everyone.

Online ‘SKILL’ wagering IS NOT illegal in the United States nor is Interstate Internet Wagering on these games except in 14 states where ‘SKILL’ wagering is specifically banned as well.

Internet sites such as AOL, MSN and YAHOO! offer legal wagering games of ‘SKILL’ by companies located within and outside the United States in conjunction with companies such as www.worldwinner.com. Since passage of the UIGEA these companies are thriving with revenues up 159% over the same period as last year before passage of the UIGEA (See attachments).
These games include but are not limited to card games such as Solitaire, Hearts, Spades and Free Cell. Additionally they include board games, puzzle games, word games and more. ALL of these games perfectly legal and exempted from the UIGEA.

These sites employ age verification, anti money laundering protections and follow all U.S. laws concerning payout-reporting requirements to the IRS and Foreign Bank Account reporting of balances that exceed the $10,000.00 level in a given year by requiring the player to complete and submit IRS Form 90-22.1 before any additional transactions may take place.

In light of the fact these ‘Legal Wagering’ games include card games a simple solution exists, include Poker and its various forms with these games and subject any company offering these games to the same rigorous rules and standards as the ‘SKILL’ wagers sites.
Of course any Internet site NOT doing this would be in violation of many laws and the UIGEA.

By doing so these companies will be subject to over-site as the current companies are and they will also then be paying U.S. taxes (a boon for all).
Additionally by taking this simple action the following benefits will be realized:
1. UIGEA can be preserved and no additional congressional legislation will be needed or required. This can be done administratively.
2. True games of chance such as slots, sports wagering and games played against the house will remain banned.
3. This solution in all likelihood will satisfy those filing massive claims against the U.S. and those claims will be dropped.
4. Taxes will be realized to help fund such important matters like Health Care for those most in need.
5. Concerns over money laundering will be addressed.
6. Concerns over children playing will be addressed.
7. Concerns over additive gambling in that these regulated sites have limits on daily, weekly and monthly deposit.

POTENTIAL JOB GROWTH IN WV

This also presents a potential for job growth in our state. In order to adequately monitor these additional companies for compliance and those that are not complying there will be a need for staff to implement this.
This office would be a nice fit in the High Tech Corridor in Northern West Virginia. Of course this office would be funded easily by the estimated 3-5 Billion dollars in tax revenue this simple administrative ruling will generate.

Let me add here, job growth and creation is something you five members of our WV Delegation has been EXTREMELY adept at and it is greatly appreciated!

The U. S. House is attempting to work this out legislatively; I feel with a bit of input from your office (working with other members of the WV delegation) this can be quickly and easily resolved administratively leaving members of the Senate and the House to work on matters of actual great importance to myself and other Americans.

Additionally this solution will avert setting an unprecedented precedence in the WTO as NO member has ever withdrawn from a treaty obligation. This solution will allow the U.S. to maintain that. Games of true chance that are not allowed in interstate transactions can be maintained.

Of course Horse Wagering will have to be allowed International Access but it would be required to only operate in a state that allows Internet wagering on Horse Racing.

Additionally, ‘SKILL’ gaming would be limited to the states that allow / do not have statutes prohibiting this. Technology is in place that can prevent this and is utilized by the ‘SKILL’ gaming companies.

We here in the U.S. rely heavily on the WTO to protect American interests and a simple card game should NOT be the cause to jeopardize that.

Sincerely,

MY NAME HERE
XXXXXXXXXX
WV
Phone: XXX XXX XXXX

CC – Sen. Robert Byrd
Rep. Shelly Moore Capito
Rep. Alan Mollohan
Rep. Nick Rahall.

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