Poker Players Alliance Launches US Ad Campaign To Regulate Cheat-Plagued Online Poker

The Poker Players Alliance launched a new newspaper advertising campaign Tuesday aimed at underscoring the need for federal regulation of poker. The ad, which comes after recent stories on cheating scandals at Ultimate Bet and Absoluter Poker appeared in the Washington Post and 60 Minutes, will be placed in three influential Washington, D.C. newspapers - The Hill, The Politico and Roll Call.

"It's time for some straight talk," the ad declares, with a picture of a hand holding a royal flush over a poker table as the background. The ad goes on to argue that sensible federal regulation is the only way to protect the millions of Americans who play Internet poker every day. "We can't guarantee that every company will play by the rules," it reads, "But we're certain good laws will deter and punish those that don't." It adds that the federal government has neglected its responsibilities; wrongly believing that censoring the Internet will prove effective.

"This does nothing to protect consumers," reads the ad. "What it does is limit our personal freedoms and drives players underground or overseas. Worse, billions of dollars that could be raised from regulation are lost. And in this economy every nickel counts."

On November 19, the US Treasury and Federal Reserve pushed through the final regulations for financial institutions to adhere to the 2006 UIGEA bill, which effectively banned Internet gambling by outlawing the transfer of funds from a financial institution to Internet gambling sites.

Companies have been given until December 1, 2009 to comply.