Has the PPA let the poker community down?

As an organization boasting over 1 million members, and headed by a former Senator in the form Alfonse D’Amato, the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) has had a huge impact in simply getting online poker into the conversation on Capitol Hill, but has the organization lived up to its billing as a grass roots movement advocating legalized and regulated online poker? In this article I will break down the positive and negative aspects of the PPA.

• Positive: You need to have a lobby to even get in the door of Congress

One thing the PPA has done is get the discussion of online poker in Congress started. The idea of legislators giving online poker a second’s notice prior to the PPA’s efforts was near impossible. So if anything, we should be praising the PPA for their efforts.

• Positive: The PPA has helped in court cases against poker

Another area where the PPA has shown itself to have quite a bit of influence is in supplying expert witnesses in court cases. These witnesses have been able to convince quite a few judges that poker is in fact a game of skill.

• Negative: The PPA has focused on the issue of legality to a fault

Unfortunately, this focus on the “game of skill” aspect of online poker legislation is in my opinion a losing argument. Skill or luck, poker is still gambling in most people’s eyes, just as offering someone 2-to-1 odds on a coin-flip is still gambling to a certain segment of the population -odds be damned!

By focusing on the skill aspect, and only touching on the other reasons for legislation -consumer safety, tax revenue, ability to crackdown on money laundering, etc-they are focusing on the one issue that comes down to morality, which is the hardest area to change someone’s mind.

• Negative: The PPA has been more reactionary to big news

Another area where I feel the PPA has let the poker community down is in its ability to stay a step ahead of the story. Instead of warning players that a crackdown was imminent, or that Harry Reid was planning an online poker bill last December, the PPA is more of a reactionary force in Washington. Now I’m not suggesting they do anything underhanded or have informants, but a typical Washington Lobby usually has some inkling of the major goings-on relevant to its particular issue. Unfortunately at this time I don’t think the PPA is driving any legislation, but is simply reacting to what is being offered.