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House Committee Holds Hearing on Online Poker

In a step forward for the regulation and legalization of online poker in the United States, a House of Representatives Committee held a hearing on the subject on Wednesday, including testimony from pro Annie Duke.

The hearing in the House Financial Services Committee concerned H.R. 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act. That bill would make online poker legal in the U.S. and set up a regulatory framework overseen by the federal government. The hearing was held so representatives could hear testimony on the subject and for fact finding, likely in advance of a mark up of the bill and a vote by the committee sometime in the near future.

Among the people who testified in front of the committee were professional poker player Annie Duke; Mr. Ed Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer, Discovery Federal Credit Union on behalf of the Credit Union National Association; Mr. Tom Malkasian, Vice Chairman and Director of Strategic Planning, Commerce Casino; The Honorable Lynn Malerba, Tribal Chairwoman, Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut; and Mr. Michael K. Fagan, Law Enforcement/Anti-Terrorism Consultant.

Duke, a UB.com sponsored pro, testified on behalf of the Poker Players Alliance, a lobbying group for poker in the U.S. She spoke largely about the idea that adults in the United States should have the freedom to spend their money and their time in ways that they see fit. She played to the crowd for part of her testimony, talking about poker and how it’s been a part of politics in the United States since the 19th century.

Here’s some of what she said in her testimony:

At its most basic level, the issue before this committee is personal freedom — the right of individual Americans to do what they want in the privacy of their homes without the intrusion of the government. From the writings of John Locke and John Stuart Mill, through their application by Jefferson and Madison, this country was among the first to embrace the idea that there should be distinct limits on the ability of the government to control or direct the private affairs of its citizens. More than any other value, America is supposed to be about freedom. Except where one’s actions directly and necessarily harm other people’s life, liberty or property, government is supposed to leave the citizenry alone in this country. In fact it was Ronald Reagan who once said “I believe in a government that protects us from each other… I do not believe in a government that protects us from ourselves.”

She went on to point out that the bill in front of the committee is a middle ground between no law on online poker and complete prohibition, that the bill satisfies the freedoms that Americans hold dear while also protecting U.S. citizens and providing a structure for online poker in America moving forward. She also came out and said that the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which went into full effect on June 1, has been largely ineffective in impacting online poker in the United States, saying: “Today, any American with a broadband connection and a checking account can engage in any form of Internet gambling from any state. As others will testify, the UIGEA regulations have forced U.S. financial institutions to implement costly and burdensome compliance programs to almost no effect.”

Duke also played to one of the criticisms of online poker, that it is too easy for minors to play online. She noted that she is a mother of four, and said she approves of the bill as both a poker player and as a mother concerned about the risks for children. She said that regulation in the U.S. would actually combat minors playing poker online, whereas the status quo does little to stop the problem.

And here was her closing statement:

For those whose religious or moral beliefs hold gaming as abhorrent, I fully support their right to live by those beliefs. I support their right to choose to not gamble. What I do not support, and what this Committee and this Congress should not tolerate, are laws that seek to prevent responsible adults from playing a game we find stimulating, challenging and entertaining. H.R. 2267 provides this freedom in a safe and regulated environment and I urge everyone on this Committee to support this common sense policy. However you might feel about gambling on the Internet, I would suggest that gambling with freedom is far more risky.

Williams spoke about the issues faced by financial institutions with regards to online poker and gambing. According to a release from the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative, another interest group, Williams testified that the bill would promote “…regulatory simplicity while assisting financial institutions compliance with UIGEA.”

After the hearing, John Pappas, executive director of the PPA, had this to say about the proceedings and the two witnesses that were not in favor of the bill:

The testimony we heard today underscores the challenges faced by the Federal government due to the unclear definition of what now constitutes unlawful Internet gambling and the glaring lack of protections for consumers. Frankly, our opponents can’t offer aconsistent argument on this issue.Former U.S. Attorney Michael Fagan wants to go as far as banning Internet gambling outright, and Tom Malkasian of Commerce Casino supports licensing and regulation – just not a competitive marketplace.It seems that our opponents don’t even agree with each other here.

The bill faces a long road to become law. A markup for the bill is likely to follow before the end of the month, and if not, soon thereafter. If the marked up bill is passed by the House committee, it would need to be approved by the full House in a majority vote, then it would also need to pass a vote in the Senate by a majority before being signed into law by the President.

We’ll have more on the progress of the legislation as events warrant.

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