The Poker Players Alliance is campaigning in Massachusetts to include online poker in a bill to allow the Massachusetts State Lottery to study possible online lottery services.
John Pappas, executive director of the alliance, issued a statement to the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure asking the group to examine offering intra-state online poker in the same vein as adopted in Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey.
Pappas said other states such as Iowa, California and Illinois are “now recognizing the potential for significant job growth and millions in added revenue, and are proposing their own legislation to regulate the online poker industry.”
“Today, in the U.S. and in regulated markets throughout the world, it is required that Internet gaming companies employ ‘best of breed’ technologies that protect minors and problem gamblers, ensure that the games are fair, and that sites block players in prohibited jurisdictions,” Pappas said in the statement. ”These mandatory safeguards are even more restrictive than those employed in brick-and-mortar casinos today.”
There are 22,000 registered PPA members in Massachusetts.
