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Sunday, February 11, 2007

Online Poker Exemption Not Likely According to AGA President

Online Poker Exemption Not Likely According to AGA President

Recent reports by certain online gambling websites have claimed that online poker may possibly be exempted in the future from the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. However, Jeff Simpson, a reporter from the Las Vegas Sun who recently talked with the president of the American Gaming Association, Frank Fahrenkopf, found out that is no where near the truth.

Fahrenkopf told Simpson that "they don't have a chance in hell," to get a poker exemption from the new UIGEA. He was speaking of the Poker Player Alliance's optimism following the Alliance president, Michael Bolcerek's, statement that he had a meeting with officials in Key West, Florida resulting in the officials understanding the legitimacy of poker as a game of skill.

According to Fahrenkopf the American Gaming Association is pushing for a study to discover if the online gaming industry has the technology available to keep problem gambling at a minimum and to keep underage curiosity seekers out of the industry. However, Fahrenkopf believes that even if the industry does have the technology the legalization of online gambling is still not inevitable. He believes that the tax rates that individual states would put on Internet gambling sites would be too high for any to be able to take advantage of.

Online Poker Exemption Not VERY Likely According to AGA President


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