WHERE DO US PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES STAND ON INTERNET GAMBLING?

8 February 2008

Poker Players' Alliance gives a little guidance to US voters


With next week's crunch "Super Tuesday" primary nomination voting due in an extraordinarily competitive and intense US presidential election run-up, the Poker Players' Alliance pressure group gave players a snapshot of the attitudes toward online poker of the leading candidates.

Executive Director John Pappas sent out 300 000 emails Friday addressed to PPA members resident in those states that will be voting come Tuesday to select Republican and Democrat candidates.

On the Democrat side, the leading contenders look to be Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and the PPA take on these candidates is as follows:

Clinton has recently said that she supports the industry’s position: to study Internet gambling to see whether it can be fairly regulated so that individuals can safely participate in it and American businesses can compete in the international market.

Pappas later expanded on this with a PocketFives webmaster, observing that Clinton’s willingness to study the issue "...is something we won’t frown upon. The PPA’s position has always been that a study is nice, but regulation is better. Other countries have gone down the path of regulation and so there really isn’t that much to study. The reality is that politicians like to point to something as a reason to support it. Clinton’s study could be what they need to support regulation.”

Barack Obama also supports the idea of a proper and unbiased study, but has been quoted by the Las Vegas Sun as saying that he worries that the Internet is ‘a Wild West of illegal activity.’ But he supports a study of Internet gambling and supports regulation to address the worst abuses.

Pappas points out, “One of the interesting things is that he’s a renowned poker player. He was known to play in regular games when he served in State Legislature in Illinois. From my understanding, he still plays and still enjoys the challenge of the game. There’s an opportunity to have him understand the difference between poker and gaming against the house. The latter seems to be where his concerns with gambling have been.”

Turning to the Republicans, The PPA has a somewhat wider choice and studies the positions of Mike Huckabee, John McCain and Mitt Romney.

Mike Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas, has the most negative views towards online gambling of any Presidential candidate, the PPA email observes. His response to a questionnaire from the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling is highlighted: “Last year, Congress voted overwhelmingly to criminalize most forms of Internet gambling. This year some members of Congress are promoting legislation to legalize Internet gambling. If such legislation passed, would you veto it? Huckabee answered ‘yes.’”

Although Huckabee has an evangelical background which is not known for accepting gambling, Pappas believes that in politics changes are possible when voter trends indicate a need for same.

"Politicians change their minds as the political winds blow," says Pappas. "As the PPA grows in power and people begin going to the polls caring about this issue, viewpoints can change.”

Arizona Senator John McCain recently picked up a personal endorsement from PPA Chairman Alfonse D’Amato. The former Senator from New York knows McCain well. The PPA feels that McCain is on the fence on online gambling: “The New Hampshire Republican primary winner does not have a specific position on Internet poker, but does appear to have been influenced by his fellow Arizona Senator Jon Kyl, who is a vigorous opponent of our rights. McCain, however, has always been willing to consider both sides of an issue and may simply need to know how strongly PPA members feel.”

Pappas says: "I can only hope that, should McCain be elected, we’d have some insight into his thought process. If you have someone that’s on the fence on your issue, then what better way to educate him than to surround him with people that understand the benefits of regulation, like D’Amato? We have a great open door to be able to engage him on the issue.”

Finally, Mitt Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts lacks a “formal position” on online poker, and according to the PPA he “...has contorted his issue positions wildly in a bid to gain support from social conservatives. As part of that effort, Romney tapped Tom Coates, Vice President, Truth About Gambling, Iowa, to his ‘Faith and Values Steering Committee.’ Coates, in turn, is vigorously opposed to gaming of any sort.”

Pappas again notes that changes in political positions are not unusual if voter demands need to be met, especially at this stage of the primaries. “The idea that a candidate has a values committee isn’t unusual, either. There’s a certain segment of the population that is evangelical. Many Republicans are going to cater to that to gain the party’s nomination. It’s difficult to nail down a candidate’s position until we figure out who our final two candidates are. Right now, the nominating process is about pandering to special interests.”

The PPA's strongest advice is to get out and vote if you are in a state that holds a primary on Super Tuesday. February 5th is an important day in the run-up to a crucial US election, and voters have an obligation to make their preferences known.

Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa