PPA backs Stars motion to dismiss
Lobby group argues in court filing that poker should not be classed as gambling.
The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) has filed a memorandum in support of PokerStars’ recent motion to dismiss the amended civil complaint against the operator.
Much of the lobby group’s argument centres around the fact that “Poker is qualitatively different from games traditionally regarded as gambling,” citing differences such as the game not being house-backed as well as poker’s “Long and celebrated history in the United States as an unregulated social and entertainment event.”
The second part of the PPA argument concerns the fact that poker is not deemed as gambling under the Illegal Gambling Business Act (IGBA). It explains that “The IGBA’s definition of “gambling” includes a list of nine games, but that list does not mention poker.”
It also adds that “The legislative history of the IGBA proves that It does not cover licensed, regulated poker companies,” drawing attention to the act’s historical targeting of organised crime, adding: “The statute has no provision targeting regulated international businesses like PokerStars, and the legislative history plainly indicates that Congress was not concerned with such businesses when it passed the IGBA.
PokerStars filed its motion to dismiss and accompanying memorandum earlier this week, referencing the amended civil complaint’s “Misguided effort to depict PokerStars as complicit in criminal activity,” and citing its claim that “PokerStars’ property is subject to forfeiture because it was used in an “illegal gambling business” in violation of the IGBA, or is the proceeds of an illegal gambling business.”