by Hillary LaClair, Senior Editor
February 3, 2009
While online poker advocates have always presented the argument of tax revenue for toward legalizing the industry, Alfonse D’Amato hopes that the current economic climate will be more apt to sway legislators in favor of an internet gambling bill. D’Amato wasted no time in pressing for a legalized online poker industry in the Obama administration. In an article he published in Roll Call, called ‘The New Deal; Regulate and Tax iPoker,’ he suggests that poker be used to pay for the programs that Obama has promised the nation.
“Our new leaders have been dealt a struggling economy, and even President Barack Obama can agree that tax increases to pay for his agenda won’t reveal the winning hand, politically or practically. A possible solution, however, is not our of reach,” the article reads. “Our new president needs only look at his favored form of skillful avocation: poker.”
The article comes at a time where the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) has been reinforced by Congress and the current administration seeks to vote on a Midnight Rule Act that would allow them to overturn it. Legislation has been proposed left and right in the past years, advocating for a legalized internet gambling industry. D’Amato hopes that the Democratic majority might have a change of heart.
D’Amato also notes that U.S. citizens continue to gamble online, regardless of legislation, and that the U.S. has forfeited billions in tax revenue because of it. To the contrary of what many assume, the internet gambling community is asking for a taxed industry as it would provide a safer, regulated environment.
“Regulation of internet poker does not equal an expansion of gambling in this country. Like it or not, the genie is already out of the bottle. The American market has spoken. There is a strong demand for internet poker and no reasonable government can or should stand in the way of adults competing in games of skill on the Internet,” the article continues. ‘To the contrary, the government should step up and exercise control over the multibillion-dollar activity and respect the rights of the estimated 15 million Americans (and 100 million globally) who play and collect revenue.”
While New York State Governor, David Paterson, continues to tax luxuries used within the state, such as diet soda, haircuts, iPods and the like, he has also asked to tax state lotteries to help pull the state out of an economic crisis. D’Amato’s proposal is quite similar, except that this is an industry that currently pulls no tax revenue.
D’Amato concludes, “If Obama applies his poker skills to his job in the White House, he will reject politically unpopular and economically untenable tax increases and look seriously at other potential revenue streams like Internet poker.’
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