http://www.pokerasiapacific.com/elec...oker41148.html
Conclusion
The status quo for online poker in Australia is the best we can hope for after this election. There is almost no chance of legalisation and regulation of poker.
If, as is increasingly likely, the Liberal party wins the election, the outlook is grim. Their explicit, stated policy is to ban online poker. The Greens and Xenophon will not stop them in the Senate.
As such, I recommend you reduce your current online bankroll to the bare minimum. As a general common sense measure, you should not have huge amounts online if you are an Australian player in any case.
Chances are you have a few more weeks to play online poker in Australia, a few months if the Coalition is slow to act on their new policy. Enjoy it while you can.
*MOD EDIT* - New info below was provided by JoeyDel on July 6, 2017.
The Australian online poker community has been fighting a huge battle to keep online poker in Australia for the past 8 months.
Their hard work has yielded some benefit. The government has agreed to hold a Senate Inquiry into the future of the game. If we are not successful it will no longer be legal to offer poker services in Australia which will lead to many reputable sites pulling out of the market.
We need to show the government that our voices matter and that we won't be ignored. We need
AS MANY people as possible to make a submission to the inquiry telling the government online poker is too important for us to lose.
It won't take long but
YOU can make all the difference. If
YOU are reading this than
YOU need to say something. If you leave it to somebody else it might be too late.
Make no mistake this isn't a maybe, this isn't a hypothetical and this isn't a conspiracy theory. If we can not make this committee see the benefits of our game then online poker will no longer legally allowed to be offered in Australia.
What do I need to do?
1)
Head to this page to see the terms of reference for the inquiry and guidelines as to what you need to do to have your voice heard.
2) Head to the
Australian Online Poker Alliance website. The AOPA has been leading our campaign so far. Head to their website for assistance on what sort of things you should be saying and for data and stats to help support your case.
3) Like the
Australian Online Poker Alliance Facebook page. This is the key marshaling point for the campaign and where directions of daily action plans are shared.
4)
WRITE YOUR SUBMISSION! This is the most important thing you can do and the most positive benefit you can give to the Australian Poker Community.
Key things to consider.
1) Make sure your answers relate to the submission terms of reference. You may find it easier just to put the terms of reference as a heading and then to write your feelings about that. If you are more comfortable using dot points then do that.
2) Remember, this isn't an English test so if you are worried that you may not be a good writer, don't worry about it. They will do there best to read through and understand your point so don't be afraid about that. Making your point poorly is far more powerful than not making it at all.
The above being said, do your best. Make it neat, use spell/grammar check to make it the best you possibly can.
3) Speak about you. There are some general points on the AOPA website, don't copy these, use them to stir your thoughts. If everyone goes and writes the exact same thing then there isn't a whole lot of point.
At the end of the day you are an expert on YOU. You know how you feel and what it is about poker you love and the benefits it brings to your life. A submission requires real people, not 2,000 copies of the same talking points. Definitely touch on general points but bring things back to your personal experiences and humanise your submission as much as you can. Poker isn't just something for lawmakers to say yes or no to. It is a way of life for tens of thousands of Australians. We need to make sure they understand that.
3) Don't get too hung up on saying you are a winner and you are a great player etc. If every single person writes in saying they are a superstar we look quite delusional which has a damaging effect on our overall argument. Sure if you are James Obst, or Jarred Graham or MonsterDong or some other crusher you can talk about the professional aspect of it.
However, the main key to our argument is that this is a hobby enjoyed by everyday Australians who live everyday lives. The more we can keep it on the hobby/fun sense the better.
Submissions need to be in by the 21st of July but I would suggest we all aim to have them done by the 14th of July because things happen.
Start sharing your thoughts on below and let's start writing these things and sending them out!
The ball is in our court. Do you want to look back and think you could have done more to save the game you love or are you prepared to do whatever you can to keep online poker in Australia.
Take action. The time is now!
Last edited by Bobo Fett; 07-06-2017 at 03:32 AM.
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