The PPA Fights Back with $3 Million

On the back of an article released in the Washington newspaper, the Hill, announcing the partisan stance of the much coveted Internet gambling bill of Barney Frank, the pro-lobby have been quick to renounce the articles stance.

At the front of the campaign is the Pokers Players Alliance (PPA), led by its chairman, former Senator Alfonso D’Amato. The former senator refutes completely the idea that the new bill is partisan and indeed has cross party support.

That the bill is, in the eyes of D’Amato and the PPA, is partisan is a complete nonsense and receives multi-party backing, as seen by the co-sponsorship of the Conservative Political Action Conference where it received widespread support.

The PPA has long opposed the 2006 Unlawful Internet Enforcement Act (UIGEA), claiming that it is vague and unconstitutional, does nothing to prevent children and problem gamblers playing online, costs the tax payers billions in lost revenue and caused the loss of jobs when companies were forced out of America.

D’Amato claims that, "the principles that are aligned with Internet freedom, personal responsibility and limited government were abandoned when the UIGEA slipped through Congress in 2006."

In a bid to fight the battle, the PPA has installed plans that will see it spend in the region of $3 million on lobbying the bill in congress. The PPA gets its funding from two sources, the first being the Interactive Gaming Council (IGC), a Vancouver, British Columbia-based trade association for online casinos, the other is its members. And members it has. The PPA has over 1 million members worldwide and offers premium versions of its membership for a one-time fee of $20.