Poker Players Alliance: 4 Main Problems of the Reid-Kyl Bill

John Pappas, the executive director of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), expressed the Alliance’s concerns about the proposed Reid-Kyl bill.

Pappas noted that his main concern was the vagueness of the language the bill was using, referring to the lack of defined legal terms in particular. He emphasized to the American gambling news that he did not have access to a full version of the draft.

Pappas complained: “We’ve asked for the language multiple times and it is not being shared with us or anyone that I am aware of. Even other key Senators in the process do not have the language. We are at a disadvantage not knowing exactly what is meant by parts of the summary text.”

The PPA also pointed out four major problematic areas they found in the Reid-Kyl proposal:

1. The PPA expressed particular concerns about the 15 month blackout period, which they would like to reduce to a maximum of 6 months.
2. The PPA also said the proposal needs to be more precise on the five year for ban companies that continued offering the possibility to play online poker in USA after the 2006 UIGEA implementation.
3. The PPA does not want the American gambling laws start introducing penalties against players. The draft threatens to forfeit “any property involved in or traceable to a gambling transaction in violation of the new act.”
4. The PPA feels the ban of offshore businesses and international player pools for US operators greatly reduces online poker liquidity.

Pappas also expressed the PPA’s desire for an international poker market: “There’s certainly enough liquidity in the US to have a robust market, but I think players would benefit from international liquidity.”

The executive director of the Poker Players Alliance added: “We would like to see language that leaves the door open for the possibility of the US market to compact with other legitimate and regulated marketplaces throughout the world.”