Poker lobby pushes for legalization in wake of indictments

The Poker Players Alliance, a lobbying group backed in part by overseas gaming interests, has unleashed a blizzard of telephone calls and e-mails to lawmakers in the past two weeks arguing that the criminal case against PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker shows the need for a legalized system.

The effort has growing support from major Nevada casinos that see an opportunity for a lucrative new market. Advocates are also dangling the prospect of billions of dollars in potential federal tax revenues at a time of fiscal distress in Washington. The debate centers on 2006 legislation that effectively bars Internet gaming by prohibiting banks, credit card companies and other financial institutions from processing online gambling transactions. In an April 15 indictment, federal prosecutors in New York alleged that owners and founders of the three poker companies tricked — or in some cases, bribed — U.S. banks into processing gambling payments by making them seem as though they were for pet supplies, flowers or other legitimate products. All three of the companies involved, which have denied wrongdoing, are based in offshore gambling havens.