PPA Wants More Details on Kyl-Reid Poker BIll

Sunday September 23,2012 :  POKER PLAYERS ALLIANCE WANTS MORE DETAIL ON KYL-REID BILL (Update)
 
Vague wording prompts Alliance to request more information…but it has so far not been forthcoming
 
John Pappas, the executive director of the Poker Players Alliance, has reservations about the draft copy of the Reid-Kyl online poker legalization bill but has apparently experienced some problems in getting essential details.
 
Pappas revealed this week that the vagueness of the language in the bill was a concern, but that he had thus far not been able to obtain a full copy for a complete study.
 
"We've asked for the language multiple times and it's not being shared with us or anyone that I'm aware of," Pappas said. "Even other key Senators in the process do not have the language. We're at a disadvantage not knowing exactly what is meant by parts of the summary text."
 
The PPA has noted four major areas of concern based on the information currently available; these include the prolonged 15 month ‘blackout period', which the PPA would like to see reduced to 6 months.
 
There is also a five year ban on participation in the US online poker market by companies that continued to offer online poker to US players after 2006 when the UIGEA was implemented, and this needs more clarification.
 
Another key provision with which the PPA is unhappy is the introduction of penalties against players, something which was absent from previous Reid proposals. The draft seeks to deter U.S. poker players from using US-unlicensed sites by threatening forfeiture of "any property involved in or traceable to a gambling transaction in violation of the new act."
 
Finally, the Alliance has reservations about the ban on US licensed operators taking offshore business or participating in international player pools, which it feels reduces online poker liquidity.
 
"There's certainly enough liquidity in the U.S. to have a robust market, but I think players would benefit from international liquidity," Pappas said. "We'd like to see language that leaves the door open for the possibility of the U.S. market to compact with other legitimate and regulated marketplaces throughout the world."