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Bill to Exempt Online Poker & Skill Games from UIGEA Introduced by Robert WexlerFri, Jun 8th, 2007 @ 12:00am Congressman Robert Wexler (D-Florida) introduced The Skill Game Protection Act yesterday to make 'skill' games, including poker, mah-jongg, bridge, and chess, exempt from current laws aimed to stop online gambling in the USA, including the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) that was signed into law last October. "It allows Americans to play poker online as they should have every right to do," said Josh Rogin, a spokesman for the Congressman. He stated that skill games should be treated differently from games of pure chance. "You win and lose based on your ability and it's a deserving distinction." The UIGEA made it illegal for financial institutions (like banks and credit card companies) to handle transactions between US residents and online gambling sites. Wexler's bill would add language to existing laws, like the UIGEA, that defines poker and certain other games as games of skill. It would also allow adults 18 and older to play real-money skill games online. The bill also calls for a system to tax and regulate all real-money skill games to assure they remain fair and to prevent minors and compulsive gamblers from playing. SECOND BILL TO TAX & REGULATE ONLINE POKER Wexler's bill is the second bill this year that proposes to tax and regulate online poker and online gambling. In April, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) introduced bill HR 2046, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act of 2007 (IGREA), to create an exemption to UIGEA's ban on online gambling for properly licensed operators (click here for related article).
Also during April, Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) introduced a bill calling for a year-long study to learn whether technologies exist to tax and regulate online gambling in the United States (click here for related article). Wexler's bill was announced the day before the House Financial Services Committee hearing in support of Rep. Barney Frank's Bill, HR 2046 (click here for related article). Frank is Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and has, from the beginning, been an outspoken critic that the UIGEA infringes upon personal freedoms. Rogin claims that Frank supports Wexler's bill. CONTACT CONGRESS NOW Despite Frank's support, passage of Wexler's bill is not going to happen quickly. Wexler concedes he does not have enough support in Congress at this time to overrule the UIGEA. This underscores the continued importance for supporters of online poker to voice their opinion to their congressional representatives. As World Series of Poker Champion Greg Raymer astutely noted at a rally held at the WSOP last year, "You have to convince these Congressmen not just that you are right; you have to convince them that it is in their self-interest to be on our side. The only way that we can convince them of that is to show them how we are going to vote and how we are going to influence other voters." HOW TO FIND YOUR CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVE The Poker Players Alliance website offers a contact list and letter template for writing your congressperson (by zipcode) making it quick and easy to do (click here for it). Alternately click here for a complete contact list and informative profile of all the current Senators and members of the U.S. House of Representatives. If you do not know who represents your district, enter your state and zip code to the left of the map and you'll be shown the corresponding list for your location. Or you can click on your state on the map to see a complete list (good only if you know your district number). Read Related Articles:
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