MA Proposes Criminalizing Online Poker

Greetings:

My name is Randy Castonguay and I am the Massachusetts Representative for the Poker Players Alliance.

Recently, Governor Deval Patrick proposed a bill (H.4307) that seeks to expand casino gambling in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This bill also includes a proposition that would make it a crime for you to play poker on the Internet (See: Section 15(h)(2)(i)). Under this provision, violators will be subject to a maximum term of 2 years in the house of correction, a fine of $25,000, or both. Ironically, H.4307 is pro-casino gambling legislation, yet it makes Internet gaming a crime. This is an unacceptable double-standard!

The Poker Players Alliance is committed to assisting Massachusetts poker players by bringing attention to this attack on our rights; however, we cannot do this alone. We need your help and are asking that you send letters to Governor Deval Patrick, your local State Representative and your State Senator. We have provided a standard letter which will automatically be sent to the above politicians. We encourage you to personalize the letter by adding your own comments. We cannot stress enough how important it is for you to make your voice heard.

Protect poker and send your letter today by visiting http://capwiz.com/pokerplayersalliance/issues/alert/?alertid=10504161&type=ML

This alert is specifically for poker players from Massachusetts who want to protect their rights.

We will update you on this situation as information becomes available to us. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at ma@pokerplayersalliance.org.

All In,
Randy Castonguay
Poker Players Alliance Massachusetts State Director

Massholes.

My sister and her husband are Massholes, I'll forward this to her attention.

wtf that is so bad, that would suck, i dont get y gambling of n e form should be illegal if u r of age to do so, that is ridiculous, gov't tryin to shape the way u can use ur money, now thats not freedom!!! i just think its completely stupid to make it a crime to gamble.

What's wrong with these people? Are they trying to build a dictatorship?

And I see no irony. They want to collect taxes from the casinos and mistakenly think that Internet poker is detracting from Casino business.

Did I say "think" above? What was I thinking?

Equivalence , make it illegal to look at pictures of guns, but legal to go out and shoot someone.

Or you are not old enough to buy alcohol, but old enough to become a soldier!

the only reasoning i can come up with for this is they r worried about too many people going bust on online poker since the ease of access and then they would be dependent on the gov't for the welfare check or w/e but if they have that big of a gambling problem, they will go to the real casino n lose it there, this really doesn't solve n e thing to my knowledge...

No, it sounds moer like since they want more casinos, they want you to attend them and not play online. Either way it's bullshit. and lmao AG, "Massholes"

I better be able to play online poker when I visit my sister in Boston, or ELSE !

VOTE you MASSHOLES, VOTE !!

OMG I HATE MY LIFE, if this happens im gonna move out of MA

Will you follow the above ppa link? Will you call your elected representatives or write them a letter about the thing that is important to you? Did you vote today? Will you do something to influence your situation, instead of accepting your "fate"?

it prob will, alot of people are going on the side of having casinos in mass since everyone goes to CT to play. Damn looks like ill have to move now

Yes im going to send a letter first thing tomorrow morning, and I did vote today . I dont know what i can do though

Voting doesn't work in a one-party system.

Or a two party poker system either I suppose?

Anyway, the point is you can accept what happens to you or you can influence it.... your choice.

So, lets say the big guy already is going to ban online play no matter what. (petition or not)
Could this be a conspiracy to compile a list of names who do play online? Then they know already who to go after it is banned?

I guess it could be...

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Sounds like he's in bed with the local casino interests. Gambling in a casino is good but on-line is bad. Give me a break.

I am convinced that the only reason that online gambling/poker playing is still illegal is because the US gov't has not yet figured out a way to effectively tax it. This type of bill just reinforces my thought. You are at a casino where casino employees can and will issue you the proper forms if you win too much at once, but on the intarweb, no one is there to monitor you.

This is all about power, control and money, nothing more. It happens in absolutely every aspect of life.

Greetings;

I'd just like to thank you all for taking this thread seriously. This issue is so immensely important, not just for Massholes, but for online poker players nationwide because of the precedent this will set.

Randy C~
MA PPA Rep

Under MA law, that would be illegal. I'm not saying they wouldn't try it...we all know politicians, however, if MA residents use the PPA generated auto-letter system, they cannot track the IP address. Just a small point to know.

All In,

Randy C~
MA Rep PPA

I'm not trying to debate you in any way so please don't take it that way.

I'm not quite sure exactly how the PPA's generated auto-letter
system works. But, someone has to look at these names to make sure they are legit.
It's like asking for a petition or a vote and someone putting a bunch of dead men's names on it.
As for the IP address it won't be needed they already know what state
you live in.(MA Petition)

I wonder if there is a competition to see which state can piss off poker players the most. Massachusetts is in the lead (FYI)

Greetings All,

I managed to drum up some interest in the largest newspaper in MA. Here's the URL for the article...Made front page news!

Patrick legislation aims to make Internet gambling illegal - The Boston Globe

All In,

Randy C~
MA PPA Rep

From the article above:

"Patrick's provision, which is described in three paragraphs of the bill, applies to anyone in Massachusetts who places or receives a wager of any type using a telephone, cellphone, Internet, or local wireless networks. It also applies to anyone who knowingly installs equipment for transmitting wagers. The provision also specifically exempts the proposed casinos from the law."

Your ISP can know you are "gambling" if they trace the IPs. Would that not be "... knowingly installs equipment ..."?

What if a Starbucks employee sees you playing poker using their local wireless network? Now they know, and they installed the equipment.


Wager of any type: If you buy a stock, is that not wagering? How about a futures contract? Or selling short an option on a futures contract?

Or how about the former CEO of Merill Lynch who gambled billions on junk mortgages, lost billions for the company, hundreds of thousands of people lost their homes. Is that not gambling? And for his incompetency, he was given $200 million when they fired him. I bet he used phones for that gamble.

The difference is clear: When the regular person loses in the stock market, the futures market, in a casino, the ruling class is the beneficiary. With an Internet casino, they are not. It is all about self-interest and control.

This law is a typical manifestation of corpocracy: the state works with corporations to advance their mutual interests for power and profits.

It never ceases to amaze me how easily people surrender their rights, especially when they are taken little by little. Then a point of time comes when it is too late to take them back because the "democratic" power base is too erroded.

On the plus side...you can still marry your gay lover

/sarcasm off/

I really hope more people pay attention to this and try to stop the hypocrisy. There are far too many times people give up their rights because they just don't want to have to bother with being accountable and then cry when they can't do anything. Ugh makes me sick.
If I had known more about Indiana I wouldn't have accepted a contract that sent me here, I would have chosen another contract location.

Some of the american states really loves to make up STUPID rules lol....

Honestly wtfs up with your government?

Nothin much. WTF's up with that Red Green show. Oh. The laughs.

It just comes to show you that MASS is one of the most F'd up states along with WV's inbreeding and the gun wheeling Texans! Not a surprise IMO. Afterall, everyone needs a gimmick. It's too bad banning online poker will be added to MASS's already long list of faux pas. Get off your World Series/Superbowl parade winning arses and stand up for you right to look at naked girlies and play online poker!

^ this is a very good point.

Individual players could in theory declare their winnings (if they have any) on their income tax forms, but it's the taxes from the site operators that they're really missing out on.

i think can control what we use our money for


ex. The government should stop common citizens from buying WMDs even though controlling their money use is not giving them freedom.

its ALL ABOUT TAX.
MA isn't making any money off of online poker. So what are they gonna do? BAN or TAX. this state is discussing 3 casino deals as far as i know. all with poker rooms. if they open up these casinos they know that if they ban online poker, players would be forced to play at these casinos. therefore, they could tax our earnings and make their penny. its all bull crap.
i moved into mass last january and bought a beautiful condo. had no problems. only after a few months, they tell you that you are required to have full medical coverage by november. result of not doing so they exempt you from a tax refund. they decide to pull this online poker crap. Now all of a sudden its cool to walk around vandalizing people's property left and right every day. the only positive thing thats happened in mass since i moved here is the sox winning the series. I'm seriously thinking about moving to Connecticut

OK, to start off, Stupid Barney Frank supports online gambling and even asked congress to support it. BUT he also supports this bill that has been put forward. This bill is to allow casinos in Massachusetts but cleverly sneaked in was to make online illegal. People can go to a store and buy one of the 80 different scratch tickets in this state and the state doesn't care if people lose their money on that. I don't care what happens, either way I am still going to play online.