U.S. Attorney General Talks Poker at DOJ Oversight Hearing

On Tuesday, at the Department of Justice oversight hearing held by the House Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Eric Holder was finally forced to respond on their attack of Internet Poker. Upon entering the meeting, there was an uncertainty whether poker would even be brought up by the committee members, but thanks to members of the PPA, who bombarded their representatives with phone calls and emails, poker was brought up on three occasions. John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance (who attended the hearing along with about 30 PPA employees and members) said, "It was important that some members raised concerns about the DOJ policy as it relates to Internet poker, we can't say that, because of this hearing, this domino will fall. It's another step forward in an ultimate progression to get licensed and regulated Internet poker. Some good questions were raised about the priority of this administration. But we won't see results tomorrow. It will have to build over time."

After a slow start, the first question came from Rep. Bobby Scott (Virginia-D) on whether Holder thought poker was a game of chance or skill. Holder laughed off the question responding he ‘would not answer the question, as it was beyond his capabilities.’ He was then ambushed with questions from Rep. Steve Cohen (Tennessee-D). After Cohen asked whether Phil Ivey was just lucky, Holder had to admit that there must be some degree of skill involved in the game. Cohen also asked if he really thought a great deal of time should be spent trying to deal with Internet Poker. Holder responded with the cliché line: "We have to enforce the law as it exists. There are laws on the books in regards to Internet gambling that we have to enforce. We recently announced an action by the Southern District of New York. It is for Congress to decide what the law is going to be, and then we will enforce those laws." Cohen responded, saying, "I agree with you generally. I understand that there were civil rights laws in the 40s and 50s that the government had to defend, and then maybe 10, 12, 15 years later after Thurgood Marshall's arguments and the courts agreement, that they realized those laws weren't valid and the laws changed. ... There are certain laws and, even though it's the law Congress passed, there's a cultural change and the people's perception changes." Cohen fully made his point when he asked Holder, "Don't you think that maybe, in the priority range, Internet poker would be down at the bottom of the level beneath obscenity, hardcore pornography and child rape, and things like that?" Holder replied that there are a variety of things the Department of Justice are responsible for, and because of the considerable amounts of money and huge financial institutions involved Internet Poker was appropriately one of them.

            Later, Rep. Linda Sanchez (California-D) started her statement by saying the recent indictments against Internet Poker have had a major impact on her constituents. She's heard from a lot of them on this matter, indicating all of the efforts by poker players to voice their concerns and making an impact. She said, "I'm hoping that's an area you'll look at again in terms of where you dedicate your precious resources. I think time, in my humble opinion, would be better spent dealing with bigger and more serious, violent crimes for example, than trying to interrupt an industry which, as I said, has been efficiently regulated in a number of other countries."

            There was a bit of controversy prior to the hearing when members of the PPA attending were told they could not wear their “Poker is not a crime” t-shirts that they had been provided with by the PPA, because anything with statements or logos weren’t allowed in the hearing. Even though they had turned the red t-shirts inside out, committee Chairman Lamar Smith, told the Capitol police to approach them and tell them that the shirts must be entirely removed, which forced the PPA members to change back into the shirts they arrived in. At the end of last year, Smith was one of three congressmen who sent a letter to Senate asking them not to address Internet gambling during the lame-duck session.

            John Pappas is sure that this will not be the last time Holder will have to answer to members of Congress and the public about the Department of Justice’s focus on Internet Poker, "I think one of the things that will happen from this hearing is that a number of members of Congress spoke to us after the hearing and said they intend to follow up with questions to Holder on this matter," Pappas said. "Some were not able to ask a question or were dissatisfied with his responses. One only has to look at his Facebook page over the last few weeks, as well as the thousands of emails and phone calls his office has received from upset poker players, to realize this is a movement and a concerned community that isn't just going to go away."

Comments to date: 1. Page 1 of 1.