A bill has been introduced! Please take a look at the following to see how you can help support it!

http://ipokerwa.blogspot.com/2015/01/we-have-bill-hb-1114-2015-16.html

We Have a Bill !! HB 1114 (2015-16)
WA State Representative introduces HB1114 –

As reported by OnlinePokerReport.com, HB1114 was prefiled for introduction by Rep. Sherry Appleton (D23) on Friday, January 9th. But this is the beginning, not the end. There is much to do, and a narrow window in which to do it, if we are to advance this issue in the legislature.

The legislature opens the 2015 session on January 12th, and we have just a few weeks to generate enough support to see the bill pass through the legislative process. It is imperative that players make themselves heard on this issue, or it will all be for naught. Please take the time to take each step

Comment on the Bill -

Players in Washington State have the opportunity to comment on the legislation directly by visiting this page. Be sure to add a comment in support of regulated internet poker. These comments will be available for all legislators to see. Let's be respectful and to the point.

Let’s thank Rep. Appleton - sherry.appleton@leg.wa.gov

Rep. Sherry Appleton (D-23) is our hero, she stepped up and introduced a bill for us. We should all write to her and express our gratitude that she has taken up our issue. She has tribes in her district and may face some push back from them, but given the way we crafted the bill, we’re hopeful they get on board. Especially if you are in her district, she needs to know she has constituent support.

Reach out to Rep. Hurst - christopher.hurst@leg.wa.gov

The next step is getting a hearing. We need Rep. Hurst to schedule the bill for a hearing. We must show him that this is an important issue to many people, and explain logically the advantages regulation has over prohibition.

Sample letter - http://ipokerwa.com/post/141

Reach out to the other members of the Committee

We need them to support the issue, and vote to report the bill with a ‘do pass’ recommendation. Again, showing them the issue is important to many and explaining the value of regulation over prohibition.

Sharon Wylie - sharon.wylie@leg.wa.gov
Steve Kirby - steve.kirby@leg.wa.gov
Brian Blake - brian.blake@leg.wa.gov
Luis Moscoso - luis.moscoso@leg.wa.gov
Cary Condotta - cary.condotta@leg.wa.gov
Jeff Holy - jeff.holy@leg.wa.gov
Brandon Vick - brandon.vick@leg.wa.gov
Elizabeth Scott - elizabeth.scott@leg.wa.gov

Sample letter - http://ipokerwa.com/post/142

Reach out to your state legislators

They only know the issue is important to their constituents if those constituents tell them so. It takes only a few moments to write an e-mail, so do it! Don’t be afraid to send them one every few days either, they can only ignore you so long, eventually they must acknowledge you, and they will.

It would be beneficial for us to have a companion bill working through the Senate concurrently with the House Bill. Reach out to your State Senator and ask him/her to sponsor the same bill in the State Senate.

Contact your legislators -

Encourage support from Industry

We need representatives of the industry to appear at a hearing, to speak to the technology that will be employed to assure regulations are followed and measures are taken to assure identity and location verification, and other means to prevent fraud and abuse.

We also need them to step up and show support for the bill, and perhaps spend some lobbying dollars helping to get it done. We’re working hard to create an industry they will step into and make millions from, they ought to be working hard along side of us, and bringing some needed resources to bear. The poker sites have representatives on this forum, let them hear from you.

Encourage support from local card rooms

If you play live, let the poker room director know that online poker represents an opportunity to groom new players, who will welcome the opportunity to get into live events through online satellites for instance, and the game will grow the way it was prior to 2006.

Remain vigilant!

We can do this! It is still ‘we the people’ and we can show the rest of the country that action by the players will pay dividends in the end.

2015 looks to be a pivotal year for hopeful internet poker players looking for consumer protections in place of felony threats. By driving the conversation last year, we have seen internet poker regulation legislation introduced in the 2015 session. Kudos go to the players who have helped keep the conversation going, it appears to have been effective . . .

Here is the sample letter, you may use all or part:

Dear Representative Hurst,

Poker has a long tradition in the State of Washington, and for the State to consider me a felon for playing the same game online that they approve of me playing in an Indian casino is unconscionable. The convenience of being able to play at home rather than those venues should not be criminal, and the stakes available on an online platform allow me to play for much lower risk. Rather than threaten players with a felony, the state should allow local interests the opportunity to offer those games to me, with consumer protections put in place by the legislature and the Gambling Commission, to prevent against fraud and abuse, and to protect against underage play. There are currently sites available to Washington State players, sites that have voluntarily left regulated markets in the US, where no such protections exist. The current prohibition only prohibits local operators and state oversight. It is time for a change.

Please bring HB1114 up for a hearing and allow supporters to make their case, and please support regulations to provide protections against those issues prohibition simply ignores.

Thank you for your consideration

And how much money did you give the state legislatures vs the gaming industry/tribes?

I wish you luck but money goes a whole lot further than letters

I am not quite sure I understand your point.

The hope is that those who operate online poker sites as well as the tribes and other interests would come together. They both would profit as well as the State.

The bill would have tribes and cardrooms operate "skins" which have a common player base.

Here is more from Curt Woodard

http://www.pokernews.com/news/2015/01/wo...-bill-20305.htm

Cool. Hope that works out for you Jeff.

Hopin' it's retroactive...

i like online poker because i like to play. to me it is more fun to sit at home and play

So contact the Rep's Larry!

Got this back -

Jeff,
Representative Brandon Vick will be supporting HB 1114 in the House of Representatives.
Best Regards,
Peter Gilmour
Legislative Assistant to
Representative Brandon Vick
18th Legislative District

i did. hope it passes

Just a suggestion. Get involved and follow the bill information on a regular basis. http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=1114&year=2015

Regular Joe's are encouraged to participate in committee hearings. As much as I dislike Appleton, I would urge you to get in touch with her office and let her know you are interested in participating in the debates on the bill and you are willing to travel to Olympia to testify.

Contact your reps and senators. You can comment on the bills directly from the link above as well.

If you do choose to go and testify be prepared. You will get 3 minutes to discuss what you want. Be articulate and to the point. Be polite. Have supporting data available as a handout if you think it is necessary. You can hand that off to the committee assistant at the time you sign up to testify, or even better, send the data to the email addresses of the reps on the committee. Be prepared either way though.

See you guys up on the hill this year. Made my first trip of many this year.