What do Politics and Poker have to do with each other? The recent Mid-Term Elections changed the majority in the House of Representatives from Democrat to Republican, 239 Republicans to 186 Democrats. The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) has been working with legislators to legalize Internet gaming. The PPA’s Executive Director, John Pappas has been working very closely with Barney Frank to pass new legislation. Although Barney Frank won his bid for re-election for his 16^th term, he will no longer be the Speaker of the House and his power to push this legislation through the House of Representatives was weakened.

It is expected that John Boehner will be the new Speaker of the House. Although Boehner voted against Poker Rights, he has expressed, in the past, that he opposes government interference with the Internet and that he believes that gambling could be acceptable entertainment if done in moderation. Progress with the passage of new legislation on Internet Gaming has been pretty stagnant in the Senate, which remains Democrat controlled after the Mid-Term Elections.

The UIGEA or The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. This legislation was attached to the Safe Port Act that was voted on the night before Congress adjourned prior to the 2006 Mid-Term Elections. Even though the UIGEA has absolutely nothing to do with the Safe Port Act that it was attached to, there was no separate vote taken on it. The UIGEA is kind of ambiguous on the actual act of Internet Poker. The primary focus of the UIGEA is on the transfer of funds. Section 802 of the UIGEA is titled Prohibition on acceptance of any payment instrument for unlawful gambling. When the UIGEA was passed it became a little more difficult to fund an online poker account.

The Poker Players Alliance is a non-profit membership organization that is free to join. Many of the top poker players are active in this organization, including the winner of the 2004 WSOP Main Event, Greg Raymer. Prior to winning the Main Event, Greg Raymer was a Patent Attorney, so he is a very good spokesman for the cause.  The PPA is very active. They post, on their site, a list of Senators and Congressmen and how they have voted on Internet Gaming legislation. The PPA sent out e-mails to their 18,000 members in the state of Colorado urging them to support Senator Michael Bennet in his bid for re-election. Bennet was the first co-sponsor for the Senate Internet Poker Bill. Michael Bennet won the election by a few thousand votes in what turned out to be the closest decision of the Mid-Term Elections.