Online Gambling Rejected
September 13, 2009
It is no secret that the Atty. Gen. of Massachusetts, Martha Coakley, is against any form of online gambling. She has made it her mission to keep online gambling out of the state. This of course does not sit well with the Poker Players Alliance, who is been trying to get an online gambling poker initiative put on November's ballot.
The PPA has argued that Massachusetts law does not specify that online poker is illegal. Granted online gambling is illegal in the United States, but the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, or UIGEA, has left it up to states to decide whether or not they would allow intrastate online gambling to be legalized.
The PPA says that they were simply seeking to clarify whether or not online poker was prohibited. Coakley says that the petition was not in the correct form and that by using words such as register and license the petition was not legal. The PPA says that although the ruling was a setback for online gambling and poker playing, they said that it will not stop them and other groups from trying to get a clarification on the law on the subject.
Last week's ruling on to the lawsuit by the Interactive Media and Entertainment Gaming Association said that it is up to the individual states to decide whether or not online gambling as it pertains to poker is legal. This of course works out well for California, as Gov. Schwarzenegger has indicated that he is looking to legalize online gambling as it pertains to poker within the state.
With Coakley now running for the vacated Senate seat of Ted Kennedy, if she were to win, it would be a setback for the online gambling community.
