Poker is one of the best games in the world. It is a game of skill. The people that love poker believe that they should be able to play online on regulated sites where they know their money is secure.

This thread will help organize the efforts of individuals who wish to bring back online poker to the USA.

Goals:
- Set up onlinepokerforusa.com and state websites
- Find the appropriate people in poker to be spokespeople for each state
- Create effective strategies for each state to push for the legalization and regulation of online poker
- Bring back regulated online poker to 10 new states before 2021

glglgl


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Is there no one already working on this already then?

Why 10 states, and why 2021?

The PPA (Poker Players Alliance) is an interest group that is actively lobbying for regulated and legal online poker. Their effort is appreciated and necessary for progress, but if more people take action regulation will occur in a shorter time frame.

Black Friday occurred on April 15, 2011. In the last five and a half years only three states (New Jersey, Nevada, Delaware) have legalized online poker. I believe regulation of online poker for ten new states in the next five years is an achievable goal if we as poker enthusiasts cooperate and coordinate our efforts.

Remembering Black Friday

Here is a well written article by Marin Harris of pokernews.com reviewing what led to Black Friday and relevant events that occurred after it in chronological order: https://www.pokernews.com/news/2016/...ater-24506.htm

It is important for the people that want to bring back online poker to the USA to be informed on what happened in the past because mistakes were made and lives were damaged. It is my view that poker players should be thankful that the government intervened because some of these companies were acting in bad faith and essentially stealing money from poker players. If the history of online poker has taught us anything it is that legalization and regulation is needed so that player funds are protected and a fair game is ensured.

Let’s review the largest online poker companies operating in the USA at the time of Black Friday:

PokerStars:
This company was acting in good faith. All player balances were safe at the time of Black Friday. Players from the USA were able to withdraw their balances less than two weeks after Black Friday.

Full Tilt Poker:
This company was not acting in good faith. In the months after Black Friday the government discovered that while Full Tilt Poker owed $390 million to players, it only had $60 million in its accounts. The government was accurate when it said that this site “was not a legitimate poker company, but a global Ponzi scheme”.

Cereus (Absolute and UltimateBet):
This company was not acting in good faith. Even before Black Friday, it was proven that high stakes cash game players were cheated out of their money by people who were involved with the site. It is safe to assume that this company did not have player balances on hand at the time of Black Friday. Its parent company filed for bankruptcy and player balances were never paid.

all 50 states by 2103

Online Poker for California

Getting legal online poker back into California is a huge step for this movement. In order to get online poker back in California, all interested parties need a deal that works for them.

Here are the interested parties for online poker in California:

Pechanga coalition- wants legal online poker and a license, wants Pokerstars coalition to have a penalty for “bad actor” clause

Pokerstars coalition- wants legal online poker and a license, wants no penalty or leniency

Horse racing industry- does not want legal online poker, sees it as taking away gambling market share, wants money if online poker is regulated

State government- facilitating the deal, regulation would result in tax revenues, for a deal to pass there must be consensus among interested parties

The current bill for online poker in California is AB 2863. This bill would make online poker legal in California.

Here is the bill itself: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/fa...01520160AB2863

Here is a good summary of the bill: http://www.californiaonlinepoker.com/ab2863/

In order for online poker to come back into California there are two compromises that need to be made. First, the Pechanga coalition and the Pokerstars coalition need to agree on a penalty that both sides would be content with. Secondly, the Pechanga and Pokerstars coalitions have to come up with a way to provide revenue to the horse racing industry. As an outsider, it is easy to see that each of these parties are strong enough to hold up any deal and all parties must be content with any online poker bill that intends to be passed.

need the yank fishies back in the game, glgl

I will be in LA for the LAPC for the duration of the series. If anyone would like to meet with me to share any ideas, advice, or information that is relevant to this cause feel free to send me a PM or e-mail me at gwsanche@gmail.com.

Issues with AB 2863

The “bad actor” clause (suitability)- In the current version of AB 2863, Pokerstars faces a five year penalty before obtaining a license. In older versions of the bill, Pokerstars had an option to pay a $20 million fine instead of waiting five years, but this clause has since been removed. It is evident that the Pechanga coalition would be content with the five year penalty, while the Pokerstars coalition would be content with paying a $20 million dollar fine. A compromise that could make sense for this issue would be a penalty of 2-3 years that includes an $8-$12 million fine.

The horse racing industry- In the current version of AB 2863, the horse racing industry receives up to $60 million each year. This money will come from state tax revenues. Regulating online poker becomes much less attractive to state lawmakers since so much money is being taken away from state tax revenues. The horse racing industry is receiving this money because their perception is that they will be giving up a monopoly on online gaming in California. The truth is is that they do not have a monopoly because there are many unregulated websites operating within the state.

A compromise that could solve this issue would be for the horse racing industry to receive less money directly from the state tax revenues and make up for it by establishing business relationships with the online poker companies that receive licenses. For example, the licensees can agree to provide and pay for advertising by sponsoring events or race tracks. They can also agree to buy certain amounts of tickets to give away as promotions or through satellites.

Online deposits- In the current version of AB 2863, poker players are able to make accounts online, but they must go to the casino in order to make deposits into their accounts. This will significantly reduce the amount of players playing on each site. One of the main reasons why people choose to play online poker instead of live poker is to avoid the hassle of going to the casino. In a state as large as California, many people will be several hours away from their nearest casino. If online deposits are not included in the bill then the regulated online poker market will not reach its full potential.

Thank you for doing Gods work sir

Amending the UIGEA

This is the last step in bringing regulated online poker to the USA. Poker is one of America's beloved past times and a game of skill. It is time for the federal government to pass legislation acknowledging these facts.

The game of poker is a mental competition that has an aspect of luck to it. In sports there is luck with injuries, matchups, and calls that referees make. In poker there is luck with table and seat draws, as well as card distribution and run outs. It is impossible to make a rational argument that poker is not a game of skill.

Here is a list of some of the poker tours, websites, content creators, and companies within the industry that are currently influencing the regulation of online poker in the USA in a positive way.

CPPT
HPT
MSPT
Pokernews.com
Poker Central
Poker Life Podcast
Poker Night In America
Run It Once
Run It Up
Twitch.tv
Twoplustwo.com
Upswing Poker
WSOP
WPT

Without these and other reputable poker institutions operating within the USA regulation for online poker would not be possible.

I will give free ad space on www.onlinepokerforusa.com and state websites to these and any other reputable poker institutions in exchange for one piece of content per month that will be featured on the sites (audio, video, written). Looking for content that promotes the game of poker and that will have a positive influence on the regulation of online poker in the USA.

Poker is a game of skill. The regulation of online poker in the USA will improve the lives of many Americans and will have a positive effect on the global economy.

Here are the social media pages that will be used by the movement:

facebook.com/pokerforusa
twitter.com/pokerforusa
instagram.com/pokerforusa

Follow these pages if you would like to see regulated online poker in the USA.

The movement is looking for volunteers. People that know that poker is a game of skill. People that believe that online poker should be regulated in the USA. People that have ideas or the skills or the resources to create, moderate, and manage the content for the movement’s social media pages and websites. If you are one of these people and you want to be directly involved and have an influence on the movement then send an email to pokerforusa@gmail.com.

The movement is holding a contest. The movement’s pages need an appropriate profile image and cover photo. Whoever submits the best profile image will receive $150. The creator of the best cover photo will receive $100. The images should incorporate “Online Poker for USA” or “Poker for USA”. The use of the colors red, white, and blue are strongly encouraged.

These images will be used on the movement’s social media pages. They may also be featured on pokerforusa.com, onlinepokerforusa.com, and state websites. Submit entries to pokerforusa@gmail.com. The contest will end after the winning entries have been submitted. Multiple entries are allowed.

If you want to see regulated online poker in the USA then help spread the word. Poker is an American pastime. Poker is a game of skill. It is time to bring regulated online poker to the USA.

Definitely cannot wait for online poker to be back fully, ACR right now is good for Americas players.