Poker Players in Massachusetts Amend Online Gambling Bill

Recent developments in the State of Massachusetts in the USA have poker players in that state reading the fine print to be sure they are not on the government list of felons. Massachusetts made amendments to a controversial legal move that made gambling on the internet illegal and a criminal activity. A bill to approve licenses for land based casinos had a stipulation that contained a part that would have made online poker illegal in the state. That contentious portion of the legislation has been omitted, much to the relief of poker players throughout America. The wording was such, “Any person who knowingly transmits or receives a wager of any type by any telecommunication device, including telephone, cellular phone, Internet, local area network, including wireless local networks, or any other similar device or equipment or other medium of communication, or knowingly installs or maintains said device or equipment for the transmission or receipt of wagering information shall be punished by imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for not more than two years, or by a fine of not more than $25,000, or both such fine or imprisonment.” The reworded bill will define poker as a game of skill and it therefore will not be included in the yet to be approved new legislation. John Pappas, executive director, of the Poker Players Alliance was in praise of the PPA’s Massachusetts members resolve, “ the PPA is very pleased that the House-passed gaming bill does not criminalize online poker, but I am even more proud of our members in Massachusetts who really stepped up to the plate on this issue.” The reversal of the draconian measure that the State of Massachusetts was about to impose sends a message to the rest of American state governments that poker players are tax paying citizens with a voice that is loud and clear. This is a victory for the Poker Players Alliance who are doing their level best to have poker defined as a game requiring skill and practice. Their goal is to make playing poker for money legal and available to all American's who choose to play.