Poker Players Alliance Says Online Poker Seizures Scare Tactics
The Poker Players Alliance responded to the seizures by the US Attorney's office of bank accounts containing funds to pay players their winnings by basically telling players they are the victims of scare tactics. The PPA reassured online gambling patrons that their money is still safe at Internet poker sites, and that government officials have no legal standing for their actions.
In a posting on the PPA website, executive director John Pappas tells poker aficionados that the Department of Justice "has significantly overstepped their legal boundaries in taking this action." He says lawyers have told the PPA that the US government ignored due process rights and deliberately misinterpreted the laws used to justify the seizures.
While Pappas wants players to know that the legal actions taken will not stand up under the scrutiny of the courts, he also wants to make sure Internet gaming patrons understand the raid was on their money, and thus an attack directly on them. He writes that "the Department of Justice seized your money here."
Pappas also wants his constituents to know that they can continue to play poker online without fear that the bullying of the Department of Justice will endanger their payments in the future. He notes that poker sites are making good on checks bounced due to the seizures, and even adding ten percent bonuses in the case of some sites, for the inconvenience caused by the US government.
Reiterating the stressed point that there is no federal law against online poker, Pappas swears to use all legal actions possible to end the seizures and prevent further disruption by dubious actions of the DoJ.
The PPA message ends with a link to a site that allows readers to write their Congressmen and Senators to express their feelings on the moves by the US Attorney.
