CISPA Vote Anticipated Today – April 23: Online Poker PAC Funds Dry Up

A vote on the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) was anticipated in the House on Monday (April 23, 2012).  With funds drying up at the federal level for online poker PACs, expect the Poker Players Alliance to “tack this bill onto anything that is moving”, as Director John Pappas recently stated.  CISPA looks like an “imperfect” host for now, but it is the only thing remotely acceptable that is “moving”. 

“As much as this is a bill about getting people the right to play online,” Pappas said, “It’s also  about giving law enforcement clear direction on how to enforce the law.”

The PPA’s hand is being forced by the lack of funding.  Two of its biggest cash suppliers were none other than Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars, two companies forced out of the US market last year following a series of charges against both firms founders. 

From Politico:

David Saleh Rauf reports: “A Justice Department crackdown on several Internet gambling websites is dealing a heavy blow to the efforts of Washington’s premiere online poker PAC to raise cash and throw it at lawmakers. Fundraising and spending by the Poker Players Alliance PAC declined by more than half in the year since the DOJ shuttered three of the largest online poker sites, a POLITICO review of campaign finance disclosures shows. The PPA also reduced its spending on lobbyists by about 20 percent last year.”

- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher