Senator urges public to help save online poker
An Australian Senator is continuing the fight to keep online poker legal with a new campaign.
Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Senator David Leyonhjelm has taken to his Facebook page again to rally support for his online poker campaign.
“The Government’s Interactive Gambling Amendment will make it near impossible for Australians to play online poker,” the post on his Facebook wall read.
“I will put forward amendments to make an exception for poker and blackjack but I need your help to get there.”
This accompanies a link to his website, which features headlines “your right to play” and “save online poker today”. Anyone can join via the electronic form to show support for his amendments.
“There are many Australians who love nothing better than to play a game they love on their computer after a hard day at work,” a letter on the website from Senator Leyonhjelm reads.
“Unfortunately, the nanny state thinks it knows better and it wants to apply a near blanket ban on many of the websites that Aussies frequent.
“I need your help to lobby my Senate colleagues to endorse my amendment to protect your right to play.”
The amendments, which won’t be debated until at least March 20 when the Senate meets again, propose to exclude online poker and blackjack from the Interactive Gambling Amendment bill 2016.
Senator Leyonhjelm has amended the bill to include online poker and blackjack in the definition of a legal gambling service, which has the full support of the Australian Online Poker Alliance (AOPA).
The AOPA was developed by poker player, Joseph Del Duca, through the Australian Tax Payers Alliance and through its website you can use the automated email to send your thoughts to your local MP.
The AOPA has also been supported by PokerStars, which has said it will withdraw from the network if the bill is passed. The company sent an email to all of its Australian players encouraging them to support the campaign.
888poker didn’t stick around to fight the battle, instead withdrawing from the Australian market already.
This isn’t Senator Leyonhjelm’s first Facebook post on the matter though – he took to the social media platform via video feed a few days earlier, telling Australians to “screw the government” and “get a VPN” if his efforts went unnoticed.
He also added at the bottom of his website, he doesn’t believe the government should intrude if harm isn’t incurred.
“As chair of the Senate nanny state inquiry, I have been astonished at the sheer diversity of things governments seek to ban,” it reads.
“I hope my efforts help make Australia a much freer place to live.”
Where to play online poker in Australia
Changes to the IGA have seen a number of online gaming operators leave Australia. Nevertheless, sites such as Ignition Poker continue to offer real money games for online play.