It's official POKER HEARING FRIDAY JUNE 08

[oldbookguy]

OK, NOW IS THE TIME TO WRITE AGAIN!!!!!

I know, we all do not have members on the House financial services Committee, but WRITE ANYWAY!!!!!

The hearing is Friday, June 08, 2007 at 10:00 A.M.

Watch a live web cast at
http://financialservices.house.gov/hearings_all.shtml

CONTACT CONGRESS
http://www.house.gov/writerep/

MY LETTER TO Shelly Capito on the HFSC:

This Friday, June 08. 2007 at 10:00 A.M. is a hearing; Can Internet Gambling Be Effectively Regulated to Protect Consumers and the Payments System?
It is my hope you seriously consider this question and with an affirmative conclusion.
This is already being done safely and securely on wagering on ‘SKILL’ games.
Really what is at issue is Internet Poker. Can that large business be effectively regulated and consumers protected. Though I feel this game is no less a game of ‘SKILL’ than the other 'SKILL' games and should be held to no less and no more a standard than other ‘SKILL’ games.
Again, the regulatory answer is yes. There are already many laws and regulations in the banking and tax codes along with laws that prevent trade with countries that violate U. S. law.
By applying existing laws and working under existing trade agreements we have with many countries concerning mutual tax policies and banking policies it should present no problems.
‘SKILL’ CARD GAMES currently allowed 36 states, Washington, D.C. and all U. S. Territories include; Solitaire, Poker Solitaire, Hearts, Spades and Free Cell.
Other ‘SKILL’ games available include Backgammon and other board / dice games as well as a wide variety of Children’s Video Games.
For game examples please visit:
MSN
http://zone.msn.com/en/root/gamebrow...re=0#4_0_1_0_0
MSN Affiliate Company (same as AOL)
WorldWinner, Inc.
275 Grove Street
Newton, MA

AOL
http://games.aol.com click CASH COMPITITIONS (a FREE AOL screen names required).
This AOL Affiliate company offering the games:
WorldWinner, Inc.
275 Grove Street
Newton, MA
YAHOO
http://games.yahoo.com/skill-games
Affiliate Company Info:
Midasplayer.com Ltd.
PO Box 44757
London SW1W 0WQ
England

[Legislurker]

Not sure what it is up against, but CSPAN doesn't set a schedule far in advance, and Friday is still open at the website. Contact them and let them know you would like this aired.

PROGRAMMING QUESTIONS & SUGGESTIONS
Viewer Services: Questions about our schedule, how to buy videotapes, and for any other general comments about C-SPAN - viewer@c-span.org

Suggest Events: Submit a public event that you think C-SPAN should cover - Fax us at 202-737-6226

[Coy_Roy]

The PPA should be doing some serious rallying of their entire member base, NOW!

[PBJaxx]

Wow! I am all over this. I will be following very closely and doing whatever I can to help. Hailing The Engineer! What should I do! gogogogogogogo!

PS-Thanks again to The Engineer for all the guidance.

[TheEngineer]

[ QUOTE ]
Wow! I am all over this. I will be following very closely and doing whatever I can to help. Hailing The Engineer! What should I do! gogogogogogogo!

PS-Thanks again to The Engineer for all the guidance.

[/ QUOTE ]


Thanks for the kind words. I posted a thread on this a few days ago (following an earlier post by Oldbookguy). Please see my thread at Letters to write THIS WEEK . OBG is right....let's get out the letters this week. Thanks.

I think the opportunity is there to ask why the federal government should enforce unclear state laws that may not apply to poker. We can also let them know that Americans do care about the issue. Also, as Party and others are negotiating with the DOJ, we should be showing support for the right to play, IMHO.

So, let's all write!!

--------------------

June 2, 2007

The Honorable Henry Paulson (same letter to Gonzales)
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20220

Dear Secretary Paulson:

On behalf of millions of law-abiding Americans, I am writing to ask that you use care when drafting the regulations to implement the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, so as not to exceed the specific requirements of the Act, especially with regard to Internet poker.

Many Americans oppose the UIGEA in its current form. It “passed” the Senate not by a majority vote on its merits, but by being sneaked into the Safe Ports Act, where it was safe from debate and discussion. As a result, reform measures like HR 2046, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act, have already been introduced, and others are sure to follow.

That being said, the UIGEA is law, and your department is tasked with enforcing it as written. As such, I humbly ask that you to just that – write regulations that address the legislation as written. As you know, UIGEA does not make online gambling illegal. Rather, it provides legal mechanisms for enforcement of existing state and federal gambling laws. However, Internet poker is not illegal under existing federal law. As for state laws, the vast majority of states permit online “games of skill” (such as the money skill games on yahoo.com and other sites that are not affected by UIGEA), and I think we can agree that professional poker players like Doyle Brunson are certainly skilled. Conversely, very few states have passed legislation targeting Internet poker. Given this, the UIGEA regulations should exempt (or simply neglect to mention) Internet poker – if not nationwide, certainly for play in states that have not chosen to pass legislation specifically addressing this issue. After all, your department should not be drawn into litigation concerning interpretation of state laws. If states actually wished to ban Internet poker, they would have unambiguously done so … especially if they wanted the federal government to take the unprecedented step of enforcing it.

Thanks for your consideration.

Sincerely,

TheEngineer

[bossplayer]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Wow! I am all over this. I will be following very closely and doing whatever I can to help. Hailing The Engineer! What should I do! gogogogogogogo!

PS-Thanks again to The Engineer for all the guidance.

[/ QUOTE ]


Thanks for the kind words. I posted a thread on this a few days ago (following an earlier post by Oldbookguy). Please see my thread at Letters to write THIS WEEK . OBG is right....let's get out the letters this week. Thanks.

I think the opportunity is there to ask why the federal government should enforce unclear state laws that may not apply to poker. We can also let them know that Americans do care about the issue. Also, as Party and others are negotiating with the DOJ, we should be showing support for the right to play, IMHO.

So, let's all write!!

--------------------

June 2, 2007

The Honorable Henry Paulson (same letter to Gonzales)
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20220

Dear Secretary Paulson:

On behalf of millions of law-abiding Americans, I am writing to ask that you use care when drafting the regulations to implement the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, so as not to exceed the specific requirements of the Act, especially with regard to Internet poker.

Many Americans oppose the UIGEA in its current form. It “passed” the Senate not by a majority vote on its merits, but by being sneaked into the Safe Ports Act, where it was safe from debate and discussion. As a result, reform measures like HR 2046, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act, have already been introduced, and others are sure to follow.

That being said, the UIGEA is law, and your department is tasked with enforcing it as written. As such, I humbly ask that you to just that – write regulations that address the legislation as written. As you know, UIGEA does not make online gambling illegal. Rather, it provides legal mechanisms for enforcement of existing state and federal gambling laws. However, Internet poker is not illegal under existing federal law. As for state laws, the vast majority of states permit online “games of skill” (such as the money skill games on yahoo.com and other sites that are not affected by UIGEA), and I think we can agree that professional poker players like Doyle Brunson are certainly skilled. Conversely, very few states have passed legislation targeting Internet poker. Given this, the UIGEA regulations should exempt (or simply neglect to mention) Internet poker – if not nationwide, certainly for play in states that have not chosen to pass legislation specifically addressing this issue. After all, your department should not be drawn into litigation concerning interpretation of state laws. If states actually wished to ban Internet poker, they would have unambiguously done so … especially if they wanted the federal government to take the unprecedented step of enforcing it.

Thanks for your consideration.

Sincerely,

TheEngineer

[/ QUOTE ]

Third paragraph second sentence, change the 'to' to a 'do'

Anyone else feeling a momentum swing coming on?

[oldbookguy]

Even if C-span does not cover it, the HFSC has a web cam on its site that should suffice.

Follow the HFSC link.

obg

[kidpokeher]

[ QUOTE ]
Not sure what it is up against, but CSPAN doesn't set a schedule far in advance, and Friday is still open at the website. Contact them and let them know you would like this aired.

PROGRAMMING QUESTIONS & SUGGESTIONS
Viewer Services: Questions about our schedule, how to buy videotapes, and for any other general comments about C-SPAN - viewer@c-span.org

Suggest Events: Submit a public event that you think C-SPAN should cover - Fax us at 202-737-6226

[/ QUOTE ]

Done. Wonder if I should fax as well? The link in OP also has a live webcast link.

[KotOD]

Balko is about the best possible witness you could ask for.

[Mendacious]

Not to be a Gaboon, but I wonder to what extent bots and collusion will be mentioned or discussed. Sure, you can license sites and set up pretty secure payment systems, but the very nature of the online game lends itself to organized and sophisticated systems for cheating. If there is to licensing in the future for Online poker, I, for one, would like to see an agency to combat cheating & bots.