US-based poker action group reports fall in industry contributions
One of the first problems faced by the Poker Players Alliance action group’s new president, Rich Muny, is a pressing need for more financial donations to keep this lobbying and poker legalisation advocate operating.
Muny has wasted no time in putting out a plea for donations this week, attributing the financial problem to a decline in donations from online poker operators and other industry sources.
“Over the past several months, we have been adjusting to a significant reduction in donations from the internet gaming industry, this despite our successes in Pennsylvania just a few months ago,” Muny explained in an email to the PPA’s more than a million members.
“We now find ourselves possibly shutting down right before what could be the biggest year for iPoker and iGaming yet.”
Muny went on to reveal that the Alliance cannot continue fighting for poker if it does not meet its fund-raising goal of $25,000 by the end of March 2018, noting that the support of poker players could make this an achievable target.
And he pledged that every dollar donated will go toward core operational expenses in the PPA grassroots communications and advocacy campaign, where communications tools are crucial to the organisation’s mission.
The Alliance has never imposed a membership fee, instead relying on donations from members and a poker industry that has acknowledged the valuable advocacy work it has done, especially in the online sector where it has campaigned in the media and in the courts for players’ rights and legalisation, and fought off political efforts to impose federal bans.
Players and operators have mixed views on the PPA and its efficacy, with critics pointing to issues where it has been less than successful in protecting online and live poker , such as the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, the federal shutdowns of major operators in 2011, various high profile operator failures in which players were prejudiced, and the involvement of Full Tilt Poker executives in the organisation following the scandal that engulfed that company (these individuals were subsequently removed from the board).
But the organisation has undoubtedly done good work in establishing links with US politicians, organising information and action campaigns supporting poker, publicising the need for legalised online poker and debunking misinformation pushed out by opponents of the industry in both media and social networking outlets.
Some observers have estimated that the PPA donations income is down over fifty percent in recent times, and that unless the player community stumps up the action group will struggle to remain financially and operationally viable.