Poker community seeks change in Internet Gambling Enforcement Act

About 100 members of the non-profit 'Poker Players Alliance', comprising poker stars Annie Duke, Chad Brown, Howard Lederer and Vanessa Rousso were in Washington recently.

They had come together for raising the stakes & push pending legislative proposals which would ease existing federal restrictions on Internet poker games.

At the center of debate is the perceived Unlawful Act regarding Internet Gambling Enforcement (UIGEA) passed in 2006 which bars any transfer of funds between Internet gambling sites and financial institutions, barring "fantasy" sports, horse racing and Internet lotteries.

All poker players want an exception for their popular sport. Two bills in front of the House intend to provide that. One has been proposed by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. It essentially wants to modify last year's measure.

The other one, termed the Act for Skill Game Protection by Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Fla., wants to establish poker, mah-jong, bridge chess & backgammon as games of pure skill.

The modifications to the existing legislation would then grant these popular games exactly the same exemption which existing laws give to online horse racing, Internet lotteries and fantasy sports.

The supporters of the move believe poker is a sport of skill for people to have a good time. They argue it's a skill game, and not hardcore gambling.

According to them, there’s a unique mathematical optimal move behind every decision made in poker much more akin to game of chess. The only aspect it shares with most other traditional forms of gambling existing currently is simply the fact that it’s housed in an Internet or offline casino.