SuperBook’s Blog

Hello again everyone.  I hope everyone is gearing up for March Madness.  I know I am.  While most of the gambling community gets its brackets in order, we’re here to give you the scoop on the latest developments in the fight to legalize online gaming in the US.  There was been some chatter this past week so here is the update.   This past week,

Frank Fahrenkopf, the chief of the land casino trade body American Gaming Association spoke about the conservative approach of his association to Internet gambling.  On the record, though the association has voiced it’s support for a study into the regulation of online gambling, they are not all gung ho for it.

He went on to explain that legislative proposals such as the one proposed by Congressman Barney Frank to legalize online gambling raises concerns about states’ right.  He explains that “We are concerned that recently introduced Internet gambling legislation represents the first toe in the water toward federalizing the regulation and taxation of gaming, which threatens the long-held rights of individual states.  We also worry that laws moving too hastily toward legalization could neglect the development of adequate protections to prevent underage gambling online and to safeguard those who may have gambling problems.”

This is why he is more in favor of studies of viability rather than the quick legalization and regulation.  He seems to be taking middle ground by saying that all the facts need to be outlined and addressed before meaningful change can be made.  Though it seems contradictory from what we’ve been emphasizing, at least he is showing that the issue is important enough to necessitate further study.  If and when any such study beings, we will be the first to tell you about it.

In other news, the Las Vegas Review-Journal has published a useful article on US legislative moves aimed at easing the ban on internet gambling, starting with plans next month for a House of Representatives panel to review regulations proposed by the Department of Treasury to enforce UIGEA.  According to the article, the hearing by the House Financial Services Committee could occur as early as April 2, and they report that draft regulations published October 4 have been the subject of over 200 submissions from interested parties. A large-scale dialogue is taking place over the issue of the feasibility of enforcement.  Barney Frank, naturally, is at the forefront of these hearings, saying that “The hearing is going to show - I want to show - that it’s not that the regulations weren’t done well. It’s that they can’t be done well given the inherent nature of the issue.”

There were some very interesting statistics reported in the article.  In 2005, 23 million people gambled on the Internet in on 2,500 Web sites.  Of that total, 8 million of those gamblers were from the United States. These stats further reinforce the magnitude of how many people are effected by legislation centered around online gambling.

In addition, the chairman of the Poker Players Alliance, former Senator Alfonse D’Amato, last week said that he does not expect Congress to overturn the Internet gambling ban this year.  Though he believes it will happen, he does not expect it to take place for at least 2 years.  D’Amato is currently involved in discussions with Republican senators in hopes of finding one who will lead efforts in the Senate to exempt poker from the online wagering ban by arguing that poker is a game of skill and not chance.

In addition to Frank, there are other gambling proposals in the works as well.  For example, a bill by Nevada Representative Shelley Berkley calling for a one-year study of Internet gambling by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences has 68 co-sponsors - 64 Democrats and four Republicans, including Representatives Jon Porter and Dean Heller, both Nevada Republicans.  This front is generating some serious interest.  Lastly, Representative James McDermott, a Democrat from Washington, has proposed legislation to tax Internet gambling for up to $43 billion over 10 years.  McDermott’s bill, which is intended to complement Frank’s bill, has 21 co-sponsors - 17 Democrats and four Republicans.

These are exciting times with much going on.  Check back here regularly for updates and more information as it becomes available.

We need to continue to unite and grow in numbers and make our voices heard. Why?  Because we can, that’s why.  You can play a part in making your voice heard.  On our blog’s main page, click on the banner link that says “Sign a petition to repeal this law” to fight the UIGEA. There you can sign up to help repeal the UIGEA.  This is your chance. Take it!

Let’s get the dialogue going as alone we are weak but united, we are stronger.  Send through your comments to becauseican2007@hotmail.com

Sometimes as I sit around the cardroom, I can’t shake the feeling that some of my opponents don’t like playing the game.  I’m the exact opposite. I’ve been playing poker pretty much every day for about months now and am still enjoying myself. Part of the reason may be because I’m winning, but even when I’m on a mini-losing streak, I still enjoy the game.  People always ask me how it’s possible that I don’t get tired of playing.  I tell them that I enjoy the thrill of competition and I always try to challenge myself to play my best.

A big change in my outlook was that I stopped being results oriented when I played.  As long as I think I played my best, I’m pretty happy with myself regardless of the result. I’m getting better at handling taking a bad beat or getting a cold deck and I’m less tolerant of when I make bad plays or decisions. As you know, I keep my columns focused and hope that you learn from them. In order to produce consistent results in poker, you have to establish a good routine and try to stay on top of your game no matter what the results.  Furthermore, you need to control the things that you can control and let everything else go. Ignore the bad beats or the times that you bubble just outside of the money, and focus on what you can control, your attitude and your game.

If you are too negative, you will breed more negativity to follow.  I don’t really believe in luck, good or bad, but I do believe that people who surround themselves with negativity have a tendency to make it a self-fulfilling prophecy. In contrast, I believe those of us who think positively and believe that good things will happen will have better results.

Until next time, may the chips fall your way.

Hello again everyone.  We’re back to give you some updates on recent events in the battle for the legalization and regulation of online gambling. Last week, another US Representative agreed to sponsor Barney Frank’s proposed IGREA bringing the total to 46 reps. This time, it was Congressman George Miller signing up to support the licensing and regulation of online gambling in the United States and he is the first new member of 2008.  He is a well-respected colleague so the hope is that his move will prompt other to follow suit.

As always, we will continue to let you know as more Congressmen agree to sponsor Frank’s bill which would essentially render the controversial UIGEA useless.

In other news, I recently found out that there is a bit of a power play being made in Washington DC by a slew of pro-online gambling lobbyists, some spending large sums of money already in 2008

According to a report from the Cape Cod Media group, at least twenty lobbying groups have been busy at work and have spent substantially in order to lobby in support of US online gambling issues.  The report says that some of the companies had already spent $2.65 million on Internet gambling during the first six months of 2007.

The American Gaming Association, a trade body for US land casino companies, spent $1.7 million in 2007 lobbying for a study of online gambling and the implications for its regulation and taxing in the United States, and the Washington-based pressure group Poker Players’ Alliance spent $900 000 on lobbying for the legalization of online poker through last year.  These well-known names have been at the fore-front from the very beginning.  There is however, one interesting group that will surprise most of you, given its hostile attitude toward the use of credit cards in online gambling transactions in the past. Visa USA was among the processing companies that had declared $480 000 in lobbying budgets in support of the Frank Bill in the first half of 2007.  It seems that they have realized that they have something to gain here if the UIGEA goes away.

Another well-known group in the report is Party Gaming, the folks behind Party Poker which no longer allows player from the US to play. At the half year 2007 mark had spent $440 000, along with the Interactive Gaming Council (a trade association for online gambling companies) at $320 000. 

What does all this say?  Well it means that some well-to-do groups are our allies in Washington and we need to continue to support the initiatives.

We need to continue to unite and grow in numbers and make our voices heard. Why?  Because we can, that’s why.  You can play a part in making your voice heard.  On our blog’s main page, click on the banner link that says “Sign a petition to repeal this law” to fight the UIGEA. There you can sign up to help repeal the UIGEA.  This is your chance. Take it!

Let’s get the dialogue going as alone we are weak but united, we are stronger.  Send through your comments to becauseican2007@hotmail.com.