PPA Chairman Speaks About The Future Of Online Poker

The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), was formed in 2005 and it has since then tried to establish a favourable legislative environment for American poker players. The first two months of 2009 were particularly good for the organization, as it managed to record significant victories throughout the United States.

The PPA Chairman, Alfonse D'Amato, a former New York Senator for the Republicans, has joined the poker association in 2007. He, along with Executive Director John Pappas, have succeeded in getting online poker closer than ever to being accepted as legitimate gaming.

D'Amato is already in his third year with the PPA now, but he considers that things are looking better for the American poker player and that other politicians are fighting alongside him in the hopes of legalizing online poker:

"We've made some tremendous strides in gaming support, particularly with members who have signed on to sponsor legislation. Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) has an omnibus approach, an approach that would basically legalize many activities that this particular legislation prohibits.
There is the Congressman from Florida, Robert Wexler (D-FL), who has more narrowly crafted legislation that would permit playing poker over the Internet.
And then there is Congresswoman Shelley Berkeley’s (D-NV) legislation, which calls for a study to see the effects of online poker."

The Poker Players Alliance is, according to D'Amato, only moving up and it is already a force to be reckon with: "We've gone from being viewed as villains to building a robust group of over a million members in the Poker Players Alliance. We have the active support of 50 members or more of Congress. I believe that during this next Congress, we have a good opportunity of reversing this madness and allowing people their individual rights in their own homes." "The momentum is clearly on our side," he adds.

D'Amato concludes by expressing his optimism regarding the effects of regulating online poker: "We want the games to be fair, but we’re not going to have 100 percent fairness until you license and regulate. I am very hopeful that we are going to achieve some real progress in providing a legislative solution that will permit people to act like grown-ups in their own homes without Big Brother government telling them what they can or can’t do."