Washington DC is looking to follow the lead of the assholes in Washington State by making playing poker online illegal.

As of June 7th, playing poker online is the moral equalivant of a violent rape in Washington State. Think about that. Laws like this degrade the respect society has for the rule of law in general – much as prohibition lead to an increase in overall crime.

Even if you do not play poker, this is about what you think should be the size and scope of government. We do not want our government spying on us to enforce ubsurd regulations.

Don´t think this is a slippery slope? Look at what is already happening in Washington State just a week after their law passed.

The first casualty in the state’s war on Internet gambling is a local Web site where nobody was actually doing any gambling.

What a Bellingham man did on his site was write about online gambling. He reviewed Internet casinos. He had links to them, and ran ads by them. He fancied himself a guide to an uncharted frontier, even compiling a list of “rogue casinos” that had bilked gamblers.

All that, says the state — the ads, the linking, even the discussing — violates a new state law barring online wagering or using the Internet to transmit “gambling information.”

These types of laws will infringe on your liberty. The PPA sent out this email today and I thought I would pass it on to you:

Dear PPA Member:

Thank you for standing with the Poker Players Alliance to protect poker. Our voices are being heard in Washington, D.C. Over the past few weeks more than 15 thousand letters have been sent to Capitol Hill telling Congress to keep poker legal. We believe this has helped to slow the bill down, but the U.S. House of Representatives is poised to vote on the online gambling prohibition as early as July 11th.

This week (July 2 – 9), the U.S. House is on Congressional recess and most Representatives are working from their offices back in your state. Now is a good time to call your Representative’s local office and tell them to oppose, H.R. 4777, the Internet Gaming Prohibition Act.

How do I call my Representative?

Simple. Click here.
Then using your zip code you can find your Representative.

What do I say?

Rep. XXX, should oppose H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act.

Regulation of online poker is a more sensible solution than an outright ban.

Rep. XX should become a cosponsor of H.R. 5474. This bill requires Congress to objectively examine how Internet gambling can be regulated and taxed rather than driven underground.

Americans know that prohibitions don’t work. Congress should ensure that I can continue to enjoy poker on the Internet in a safe and regulated environment and not make the same mistake.

Telling American adults how to use their hard-earned money, whether on e-bay or on playing internet poker is not the federal government’s job, and I object to Rep XXX deputizing banks to monitor my debits and credits.

Again, it is essential that you make your voice heard. Please call!

Sincerely,

Michael Bolcerek, president
Poker Players Alliance

Every letter and phone call counts. I am throwing in the line “If you vote to outlaw online poker, I will vote against you in every future election that I can and tell all of my friends and family to do the same.”