Online poker could be officially illegal in MA soon

[Uglyowl]

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This state has way more important things to waste money on than internet poker players.

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If we ever see the day where regulated poker hits the USA and Mass. has this silly on it's books we will be [censored]. Get on the horn and let them know what you think.

[Dmunnee]

got this back from a senator not 4 hours after I sent him the pre-prepared PPA email:

Hi:

Thank you for bringing this issue to my attention. I had no idea this was
a part of the casino gambling legislation. I will keep an eye out on
this piece for you. Furthermore, the casino legislation is likely to
take a very long time to go through the legislative process. The
legislation has not had a public hearing yet and it is likely going to
be fully analyzed over a long period of time. It is not going to move
quickly.

I am glad that you brought this issue to my attention. If you should
have any further comments on this issue or the casino gambling proposal,
please contact my legislative aide, Wendy Wiiks, at 978-534-6946.

Very truly yours,

Bob Antonioni

[gurgeh]

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Fellow Massholes,

The PPA link sends an email to your state reps. It takes all of 10 seconds; there is no reason not to do it. Gogogogogo imo.

[/ QUOTE ]

I found the PPA form letter kind of lame. The good thing is that it provides the framework for it to be rewritten in stronger language, which I did. I'm going for hard copies; hopefully the printed letters really do have more impact than emails do. On the other hand, calling should be quite productive, but I have a friend who phoned in and got told "Well, it's already illegal at the federal level."

Go get them somehow, but be prepared for BS.

[NewGuy]

[ QUOTE ]
why didn't the PPA send me this e-mail too?
I know they have my address. Guess they assume I don't care about Massachusettes or something. Really that's only partially true.

[/ QUOTE ]

I believe the letter was sent only to PPAers who live in Mass, since it included a webform to send an email/letter to local Mass state reps. There's been some discussion in the Legislation thread about what PPA members outside Mass can or should do.

Legislation forum thread on MA poker ban

The PPA webform was unable to automatically send the letter to Governor when I used it, so here's the contact info for the Governor's office:
1) The best phone # to use is for the Governor's Constituents Services Office at 617.725.4005 (this office tracks all constituents positions who call in)
2) Below is a link to a webform for sending an email to Governor's office (all submissions are read and tracked) http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=gov3util...ov3_contact_us
Massachusetts State House

[NewGuy]

[ QUOTE ]
On the other hand, calling should be quite productive, but I have a friend who phoned in and got told "Well, it's already illegal at the federal level."

Go get them somehow, but be prepared for BS.

[/ QUOTE ]

FWIW, I definitely got the same BS when I spoke to whoever picked up in the main office of the Governor, as well as the people I reached in the Legislative office. I asked them specifically if they would pass along my feedback / opposition to the online poker ban, and it was clear they would not in any formal way.

They did however eventually direct me to the Gov Constituents Services Office. This office is responsible for hearing residents opinions, tracking how people weigh in, and providing tis data as feedback to the Governor's staff.

Bottom line: IMO this office is the best conduit to the Governor for expressing your opposition to making online poker a felony (617-725-4005), while the PPA webform is the easiest / most convenient way to get your opinion sent properly to your local Mass reps.

[ran]

Funny that after UIGEA, the "evil Republicans" get blasted for vicious intrusions into our private business. Now the 99.44% Democrat government of the People's Republic of Massachusetts is considering this, nobody says boo.

Ironic.

[permafrost]

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Washington state is the ONLY state that it's illegal to play poker online. In Oregon, 100% legal.

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Not sure what you mean by '100% legal', but in Oregon it's deemed "unlawful" and a misdemeanor, since playing online raked poker is not "specifically authorized by law".

[NewGuy]

[ QUOTE ]
Funny that after UIGEA, the "evil Republicans" get blasted for vicious intrusions into our private business. Now the 99.44% Democrat government of the People's Republic of Massachusetts is considering this, nobody says boo.

Ironic.

[/ QUOTE ]

This probably belongs in the Politics (or Legislation) forum, but I sure as hell wouldn't say no one is saying boo. If you read the Legislative forum thread about this topic, then you won't think residents of Mass and others aren't angry at the Democratic Governor over this.

The irony is not lost on Mass residents that:
1) Barney Frank of Mass. is the most prominent member of the House in terms of fighting / overturning the UIGEA.
2) Anti-gambling conservatives in the state may end up being allies with the PPA in fighting to block this casino / online gambling bill from passing as is.

Bottom line, this isn't a Democrat vs Republican / right vs left issue, even though if you do your homework you'll see that a higher % of Republicans (vs. Dems) support an online gambling ban. Republicans wrote the UIGEA & tacked it on, but Democrats failed to stop it, etc. There are plenty of ill-informed and hypocritical politicians on both sides of the aisle, and we need to write or call them, and let them know how we feel about losing our right to play poker online.

[NewGuy]

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Washington state is the ONLY state that it's illegal to play poker online. In Oregon, 100% legal.

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This issue is not isolated to just 1 or 2 states, it's a disease that could spread to your state next if you live in the US.

According to http://www.compatiblepoker.com/usa.php, it's a felony in Louisiana too.

VI. 11 States Strongly Affected by Poker / Casino Ban
Many sites have issued an 11 state ban not allowing players only from the following states.

Illinois
Indiana
Louisiana - felony to play online poker for real money in the US
Michigan
Nevada
New Jersey
New York
Oregon
South Dakota
Washington - felony to play online poker for real money in the US
Wisconsin

[disjunction]

Does it say the timing on this? Would it become illegal the same time the casinos are finished (something like 2013 IIRC) or right away?