"Testimony from the federal regulators and representatives of the financial services community made it clear that the prohibition on Internet gambling isn't working now and will not work in the future," said Jeffrey Sandman, spokesman for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative.

Representatives of the US Department of the Treasury and Federal Reserve System acknowledged at the hearing the challenges US financial institutions will face in attempting to comply with UIGEA. "Since most payment systems are not well designed to comply with this law, it will be very difficult to shut off payment systems for use of Internet gambling transactions," said Ms. Louise Roseman, Director, Division of Federal Reserve Bank Operations and Payment Systems, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

...as US poker players unite politically

American poker players, some of whom have not registered to vote until now, are becoming politically organised and active through a website and are lobbying legislators.

The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) has already attracted over one million members, and has launched a voter registration programme alongside a Political Action Committee at pokerplayersalliance.org.

"Reaching one million members puts the PPA on par with political powerhouses, and will allow us to advocate even more effectively on behalf of our members," said PPA Chairman, Former Senator Alfonse D'Amato.

As part of PPA's ongoing advocacy efforts, and to fully leverage its growing membership, the organisation launched a comprehensive voter registration campaign to underscore the growing political activism among the poker community. With a goal of registering 100,000 poker players as new voters, the "If You Play, Have a Say" campaign aims to reach out to PPA members who are not currently registered to vote, encouraging them to participate.

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