Update: PPA Chairman D'Amato Concerned about the Poker Players' Rights

Supporters of online poker express their objections at the Capitol Following the latest enforcement actions against internet gaming e-cash processors and gambling domains, the Poker Players Alliance arrived to Washington DC yesterday attracting the spotlight and gaining wide mainstream-media coverage. The statement given by the PPA chairman and the former New York senator, Alfonse D'Amato, expressing concerns about the recent developments was reported by both Hill and The Washington Times. “We're deeply concerned about losing our rights. It's about rights of what you can do in your own home on your own time,” D'Amato said, explaining that the Washington rally was an attempt to represent the 10 million online poker players in US, and reiterate their call for regulation and licensing of online poker. According to Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., the Department of Justice crackdown on April 15th aimed at reinforcing the UIGEA, Washington Times reports. On the other hand, PPA directors claim that instead of being subject of prohibitionary actions, the business worth $6 billion per year should be regulated so as to ensure customer protection. The Washington Times reported that over 50 protesters attempted to urge the legislators in Congress to take steps towards legalizing online poker. “Ease The Debt, Let Us Bet!”read a sign showed by Daniel Alexander, a protester from New York, who added that “… poker could be an outlet for taxation. Tax and regulation could help ease the U.S. debt crisis a great deal”. Among the protesters were also the Republican representatives Joe Barton of Texas and John Campbell of California, who are involved in promoting legislation to clarify the laws allowing online poker in their respective states. “When we had the indictments a month or so ago, people in my district were affected greatly,” Barton said underlining that poker should be legalized as it is not a game of chance, but a game of skill. Representative Campbell warned that the recent crackdowns would force online poker players to use foreign-based sites or underground offer, thus risking consumer protection. “It's about consumer protection. When people play on foreign sites … you don't know what's going on. We need to protect that consumer, protect that player, protect that person,” he told the Washington Times. According to Linda Johnson, a professional poker player, the government decision had been devastating for her both at the financial and personal level. “It's not just a loss of a source of income. It's my hobby, my passion. I travel over 200 days of the year, and at night in my hotel room I love to play online poker. And I often play it at home. How can they prohibit a game you can play in your own home?”