Early on Tuesday, the Poker Players Alliance released a statement authored by its chairman, former Sen. Alfonse D’Amato, regarding the unfolding insider-cheating situation at UltimateBet and a similar situation at Absolute Poker that was exposed months earlier. D’Amato’s statement called for a full and public disclosure of the affairs and included a renewed call for the United States to implement a licensing and regulatory framework for online poker to protect American citizens’ interests. D’Amato also noted that the PPA is not a regulatory body per se, but that the unfolding events compelled the organization to make a statement on the matter.

“Trust is paramount in poker,” began the heart of the D’Amato/PPA statement, the complete text of which is available at the pokerplayersalliance.com site. “Sadly, this foundation has been undercut by admissions from two well-known online poker companies, Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet, that cheating has occurred on their poker sites. The Poker Players Alliance condemns any and all cheating in poker no matter the forum in which it is played. Because of the current legal uncertainties and the lack of federal regulation and oversight, it is especially troubling when cheating occurs in online poker. This has created an untenable atmosphere and has denied the proper means to investigate allegations, administer due process and then apply appropriate penalties for the wrongdoers. We urge these companies and their regulating authority, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, to provide a full and transparent accounting of these breaches of the public trust to help lift the black cloud that has been placed over the industry.”

Read the rest at PokerNews.com

Tags: absolute, alfonse, cheating, damato, gambling, Online Gaming, poker, ppa, Rules, Texas Holdem, ultimate bet, United States|
Posted By: jackhammer | Jul 23rd