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Republicans and Online Poker: Can’t We Be Friends?

I often rail against members of the Democrat Party for blindly supporting the agenda of their left-wing leaders.  Too often, they parrot the talking points script with no understanding of the facts or, worse yet, the consequences, unintended or otherwise, that such policies would inflict on the US economy or our personal liberties.  Well, suffice it to say, the Republicans are guilty of such nonsense at times as well and today’s post is going to point out one such issue.

In 2006, Congress passed the Security and Accountability For Every Port Act (SAFE Port) which enhanced port security.  The bill passed the House by a 421-2 vote in May of that year and the Senate passed it 98-0 on September 14th.  Who doesn’t want improved port security, right?  Well a funny thing happened when the bill went to conference.  Thanks to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), who received contributions from land-based casinos, Senator John Kyl (R-AZ), and Representative Jim Leach (R-IA) the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was attached to the SAFE Port bill on September 29th even though it was never debated in any congressional committee.  At midnight on September 30th, the day before Congress adjourned for mid-term elections, the SAFE Port Act with its new UIGEA attachment was passed.  Due to a resolution (H.RES.1064) sponsored by Representative Pete Sessions (R-TX), the reading of the conference committee report where UIGEA was added was waived before the vote.

The goal of UIGEA is to prohibit financial institutions from enabling money transfers to offshore casinos that provide internet users with “games of chance”.  This includes online lotteries, casino games such as blackjack and craps, sports betting, and of course, online poker.  Interestingly, horse race betting and fantasy sports were excluded…wonder why?  UIGEA has absolutely nothing to do with United States port security and attaching it to “must-pass” legislation like the SAFE Port Act without having it stand before a vote on its own merits is yet another example of members of Congress cramming their agenda down our throats under cover.  If we, as citizens, let Congress get away with these tactics on issues as relatively small as UIGEA, why are we surprised that Congress has the stones to try it with something as big as government-run healthcare?  Reconciliation, anyone?  But I digress…

Besides the methodology by which UIGEA was enacted into law, my chief concern is that poker was included as one of the “games of chance”.  Unlike games like blackjack or craps, a poker player is playing against other poker players, not the house.  In fact, the house (online poker site in this case) has an incentive to provide players with a safe, fair and fun playing environment since their money is made not on whether you win or lose but on a percentage, called rake (usually around 5%-10%), of each pot or tournament entry fee.  At the first sign of foul play, poker players will leave a site in droves for one of its competitors and the revenues will quickly dry up.   I did not and would not play online casino games due to my inherent distrust of a game where my opponent, the house, is running the software and makes money if I lose and loses money if I win.

Furthermore, I will submit to you that while chance plays a part in poker (every poker player has bad beat stories), it is primarily a game of skill and takes playing hundreds of thousands of hands before one can truly begin to master the skill aspects of the game.  Understanding and calculating pot odds, the betting patterns of your opponents, and proper style of play at various stages of a tournament are just three of the vital skills that must be learned and mastered in order to achieve long-term success in poker.  It is not surprising to see many of the same names over and over at the final tables of poker tournaments around the globe.  These men and women became pros of their game in much the same way that Albert Pujols or Kobe Bryant became pros of theirs – practice, practice, practice along with skill and God-given talent, whether cerebral or physical.

Why not just play at a casino?  I enjoy playing at a casino every once in awhile but quite frankly, I enjoy online poker for the same reason I pay my bills online – it is convenient, cheaper and much more efficient.  The rake at a casino is typically higher than online and I don’t have to drive to an online casino.  A typical online site can deal 70-80 hands of poker an hour, while in a casino you would be lucky to get half that amount.  In addition, if you have an annoying person playing at your table online you can just mute their chat and at home, I enjoy access to my own TV, refrigerator and bathroom.  The bottom line is that we as Americans should have the freedom to play poker online.

So back to the Republicans…Most of them continue to toe the party line on this subject with Rep. Ron Paul (TX) being a notable exception.  Every time a bill or resolution to clarify or delay the regulations imposed by UIGEA comes before a committee, the Republicans tend to oppose it as a block, yet I can not help but believe that most of them have not given an ounce of thought to this topic.  They simply vote as the leadership, such as Senator Kyl, tells them to vote.  Senator Kyl went so far as to delay nominations of Treasury department personnel because he was mad that Obama postponed administration of UIGEA regulations until June 2010.  Hey John, here’s a thought, how about helping Senate Republicans craft a unified plan to show us great unwashed folks why you are better than the Democrats before we go to vote in November?  Think you might put some effort into that or are you too busy with your little pet issues?  For the rest of you, how about checking with your constituents before falling in lock-step with your party leadership?  A 2006 Zogby poll showed that 71% of Americans believe that government should not be restricting adults from gambling with online sportbooks or casinos.  If you asked just about online poker, I would bet the percentage would be even higher based on the popularity of poker on television the last half decade.  So why do the Republicans keep running like lemmings to the “no” button each time?  Make your own opinion.  I got mine.

I would like to see online gambling, and poker specifically, moved on-shore.  Allow Harrah’s, home of the World Series of Poker, MGM, or the Venetian to buy licenses to run online gambling sites and pay taxes on the revenue.  Americans made up 50% of the $15 billion online gambling industry in 2006.  The US government is closing off a potential revenue source by attempting to outlaw online poker versus bringing it on-shore and regulating it.  The sad part is the poker industry is feverishly holding its hand up and saying regulate and tax me!  Two bills on this specific issue, H.R. 2267 and S. 1597, are currently working their way through Congress.  I would ask that the Republicans keep an open mind and put some thought into this one and, dare I say it, check the pulse of their constituents before simply voting no because Senator John Kyl and other tunnel-vision colleagues tell them to do so.