Presidential hopeful Andrew Yang tweets support for online poker.
Online poker received a huge boost yesterday when Democrat presidential hopeful Andrew Yang tweeted his support for the regulation and legalization of the game across the USA.
Huge Boost for Online Poker
Online poker is legal in 4 states. The state-by-state rules are variable and push many players to offshore sites. We should clarify the rules and make it legal in all 50 states. US players and companies would benefit and new tax revenues could be used to mitigate addiction.
— Andrew Yang🧢⬆️🇺🇸 (@AndrewYang) October 26, 2019
If that message of solidarity with the poker community wasn’t enough, he then agreed to join popular podcaster Joe Ingram on his show to discuss the future of the online game.
Thanks Joey. Would love to sit down. 👍
— Andrew Yang🧢⬆️🇺🇸 (@AndrewYang) October 27, 2019
The 44-year old New Yorker is currently running quite low in the polls to determine who will challenge President Trump for the presidency next autumn.
His stock, however, is rising, with support from many quarters. Poker players may well be among them after yesterday’s surprise tweet.
Thank you, Mr. Yang. A candidate that finally understands the legitimate career many of us lost out on. #YangGang2020 #Yang2020 #YangGang
— Darth Joe Pesce (@plomaheezy) October 27, 2019
As most readers will know, online poker in the US has been under a very dark cloud since the UIGEA act came into being in 2006. It effectively kiboshed the online game by targeting the ‘financial transactions’ required to make deposits and cash out.
This eventually led to the poker Black Friday of April 2011. This event saw the US Department of Justice indict the owners of most of the still-running online poker sites, PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker included.
Since then, the online poker industry has been fighting an uphill battle on a state-by-state basis to gain legitimacy as Yang says only four making the grade so far: New Jersey, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.
Yang’s interest in online poker regulation and the benefits it would bring to both the poker community and broader society through taxation was piqued after chatting to voters in Las Vegas.
@Joeingram1 I was the guy who brought online poker up with Yang. My friend Chris just talked with Yang about your podcast. Hopefully this gets done. Otherwise Yang has offered appearances on podcasts if you can refer $10,000 in donations to his campaign. Could be a last resort.
— Noah (@novasandler) October 26, 2019
A Long Way to Go
Naturally, it’s a long way from being an outsider for the Democratic nomination and any potential change in legislation. Still, the fact that such a high-profile politician supports the idea in principle is a massive boost.
He did a town hall today in Vegas. I thanked him on behalf of the entire poker community pic.twitter.com/ACMiyrj7yY
— Faith Klimczak (@faithklim) October 27, 2019
RunItOnce founder Phil Galfond was among those impressed by the possibilities arising from an Andrew Yang appearance on Ingram’s podcast. Additionally, he outlined the current problems facing US sites…
Yes! & what most outside of poker don’t realize is that MANY sites still operate in the US, but because it’s outlawed, the ones remaining are those who ignore all regulations including responsible gaming, security, anti-money-laundering, etc.
Legal poker makes Americans safer!
— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) October 26, 2019
Of course, even if Yang were to make it to the White House, there’s no guarantee online poker would benefit. But things would almost certainly be better than former casino owner Donald Trump, financially backed by another casino mogul Sheldon Adelson.
Adelson’s opposition to online gambling has been a thorn in the side of campaigns to ‘legalize’ it. The Venetian Casino owner’s Coalition To Stop Internet Gambling described the online game as a ‘moral cancer.’
Therefore poker fans are hoping that Ingram and Yang can help redress the balance with a discussion on the positive benefits.
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