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Full Tilt Backs Legalization of Online Poker in U.S.

One of the big online poker rooms is throwing its weight behind the push to legalize and regulate online poker in the United States, as Full Tilt Poker is asking its players to get involved.

The push by Full Tilt comes in advance of consideration of H.R. 2267, the Internet Gambling, Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, which was introduced into the U.S. Congress by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) in 2009. That bill would set up the framework for online poker to be played legally, and under U.S. regulation, in the states. The bill had been slated for a hearing this week in the committee Frank chairs, the House Financial Services Committee. Markup of the bill does not appear on this week’s schedule, although it figures to be on the committee’s agenda soon.

Full Tilt e-mailed its players this week, directing them to a new part of their web site, called “Stand up for Poker.” Once there, players are greeted with a video message from Full Tilt pro Howard Lederer, urging poker players in the United States to contact their elected officials in Congress to support HR 2267.

This marks the first time one of the major online poker rooms has attempted to use its influence in regards to the efforts to legalize online poker in the United States in a major way. Faced with the uncertainty surrounding the legality of online poker in the U.S., Full Tilt has chosen to support Frank bill. Many poker rooms pulled out of the United States market years ago when the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act had been passed, but some, like Poker Stars and Full Tilt, stayed and continued to accept U.S. players.

The site offers three ways to contact representatives — by writing them an e-mail, by sending them a message on Twitter, or by calling them. The site will determine your representative for you and will make sure you are contacting them directly.

This effort by Full Tilt, which is the second-largest poker room behind PokerStars and has a huge number of American players, should have at least some impact in Congress. The web site was done in conjunction with the Poker Players Alliance, which is a lobbying group representing the interests of poker and poker players in the United States.

The bill in question is still only in committee. It must first be revised and approved by the committee before it can get to a full vote in the House of Representatives. If approved by a majority of the House, the bill would then move to the Senate, and it would have to approved there by a majority vote before being signed into law by the President.

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