Presidential Suggestions for UIGEA Grow Apace (Update)

January 19, 2009 (InfoPowa News) — President Elect Barack Obama's "suggestions" website at http://citizensbriefingbook.change.gov/home, and especially the threads proposing the abolition of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), continues to attract the attention of the online gambling community (see previous report).
 
The Poker Players Alliance has now put its weight behind calls for the incoming U.S. president to strike down the hugely unpopular law, which has cost online gambling companies millions, resulted in the exit by many from the U.S. market, generated opposition from the financial and political sectors and drastically reduced the Internet venue choices of American players.
 
There are now six different threads on the Obama website, as typing "UIGEA" into the site's search panel will show, empowering Americans to pick the wording that best suits their individual view. The PPA's thread of choice is one entitled "Boost America's Economy with Legal Online Poker," which had attracted 1,421 comments when InfoPowa went to press Saturday morning.
 
The six threads that came up on InfoPowa's search for 'UIGEA' on the site were:
 
Boost America's Economy with Legal Online Poker
Legalizing Online Poker and Taxing it to Stimulate Economy
Repeal of UIGEA and regulation of Online Gaming
Online Poker  
Stop Combining Bills into one Bill when they should be Voted Sepa…
Economic Justice
 
The objective of the site is to elicit grass roots American opinion on issues to which the incoming president should pay attention, and it is clear that large numbers of dissatisfied Americans are using it.