The Poker Players Alliance has reacted to the latest attempt by Sens. Lindsey Graham and Diane Feinstein to discredit the Office of Legal Counsel’s 2011 opinion that the Wire Act of 1961 applies only to sports betting (see previous report).
In a public statement the Alliance’s executive director John Pappas commented:
“If they were handing out awards for congressional letters this one would win ‘Most Misleading’ in a landslide. Aside from the statement that Pennsylvania authorized online gaming and other states are considering it, there is nary a fact contained within the letter’s five paragraphs.
“Congress has given express authority to states to regulate iGaming, a detail that Senators Graham and Feinstein repeatedly ignore. Moreover, they continue to misrepresent an almost decade old FBI letter that does not address the realities of regulated online gaming.
“I suppose it’s easier to conflate reality with their own bias to continue making the same points, than actually own up to the fact that regulated iGaming is responsible public policy.”
The PPA goes on to examine the senators’ letter in detail and deconstruct its flaws and misrepresentations.