FairPlay USA

FairPlayUSA was a coalition of law enforcement officials, consumer protection experts, poker players, companies in the commercial gaming industry and other Americans concerned about online gambling in the United States. Its goal was to educate policymakers and the public on the broad public policy interests raised by the current ambiguous laws in the U.S. that have led to millions of Americans gambling on the Internet. 

More from the original FairPlayUSA.com site:

FairPlayUSA supports Congress once and for all defining what is illegal gambling and providing stronger law enforcement tools to ban such gambling, as well as providing a strict regulatory framework for online poker.

State-of-the-art technology, coupled with strict regulation, will enforce our laws, protect players and children, and create tens of thousands of American jobs. We believe that poker, “America’s Game,” should be safe and fair for law-abiding players. Our goal is to educate and create public momentum for effective law enforcement, consumer protection, and strict regulation.

PRINCIPLES

• Strengthen the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006 to unambiguously eliminate illegal Internet gambling.
• Provide tools to crack down on unlicensed foreign operators who do not comply with U.S. law; removing U.S. banks as the enforcers under UIGEA and empowering law enforcement to shut down illegal operators.
• Give states and tribes the authority to accept or prohibit online poker and mandate sophisticated tools to block consumers in those prohibited areas.
• Establish a strict gaming regulatory framework for licensing and enforcement of online poker in jurisdictions that want to be part of a federal network.
• Require licensed operators to offer state-of-the-art problem gambling controls that give players the option to limit their wagers, deposits, losses, and playing time.
• Mandate that operators of licensed online poker sites maintain a complete record of all transactions and player identities, and that they comply with existing U.S. laws on federal bank secrecy and suspicious transaction reporting.
• Require that technologies currently used successfully in other age-sensitive industries be used to combat underage poker play.
• Mandate technological safeguards to ensure that games are fair and honest, offering the same strict regulatory scrutiny as commercial poker rooms.
• Allow states to capture much-needed revenue from a licensed, regulated, federal poker network.
• Mandate that players’ deposits be maintained in escrow accounts and available on demand.

Former Advisors

Parry Aftab

Parry Aftab is a US lawyer, child advocate and expert in all aspects of consumer and family cybersafety issues. She is also a risk-management and best practices consultant and advisor to the leaders of the Internet and digital technology industries.

Parry authored the first Internet safety book in the world, A Parents Guide to the Internet. She has been featured in Biography Magazine, in Chris Hansen’s book, To Catch a Predator (named after his award-winning Dateline series of the same name.) Parry is a leader worldwide in cybersafety and privacy and is in demand as a keynote speaker on these and Internet best practices. And Dr. Aftab’s CMP Privacy Lawyer column received the coveted American Society of Business Publication Editors Gold Award in 2004 for her article on the Patriot Act and corporate confidentiality.

Louis Freeh

Louis J. Freeh is the founder and Senior Managing Partner of Freeh, Sporkin and Sullivan. He was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Rutgers University in 1971 and received his Juris Doctor (JD) degree from Rutgers School of Law in 1974 and his Master of Laws (LLM), in criminal law, from New York University School of Law in 1984.

Freeh joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a Special Agent in 1975, working assignments both at the Bureau’s headquarters and later transferring to its New York City Field Division. In 1981, Freeh joined the United States Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York as an Assistant United States Attorney. Following a series of promotions, and high-profile federal criminal prosecutions, he was appointed Deputy U.S Attorney for the Southern District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York. Freeh served on the federal bench until his appointment as Director of the FBI by President William J. Clinton in 1993.

Tom Ridge

The Honorable Tom Ridge is the president and CEO of Ridge Global. As the company’s chief executive, Ridge leads a team of international experts that help businesses and governments address a range of needs throughout their organizations, including risk management, global trade security, emergency preparedness and response, strategic growth, infrastructure protection, technology integration, crisis management and other issues that encompass a diverse portfolio.

Greg Raymer

Greg Raymer, nicknamed “FossilMan”, is the 2004 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion. Since winning the world championship, Greg has gone on to great success as a professional poker player, with over $7 million in tournament earnings. Greg has also gone on to become one of the top poker instructors, teaching for the WSOP Academy, WSOP Academy Online, and his own FossilMan Poker Training. Before becoming a full-time poker pro, Greg earned degrees in Chemistry, Biochemistry, as well as his law degree from the University of Minnesota. Greg worked as a biotechnology patent attorney for twelve years, most recently with Pfizer.

Mike Sexton

Mike Sexton is well respected in the poker world as both a player and an industry leader. He’s been a professional poker player for over 30 years and is a commentator on the World Poker Tour, now in its 10th season.

Sexton is a poker visionary who is considered one of the premier ambassadors of poker. He was presented what many consider the most prestigious award in poker, the “Poker Ambassador Award”, in 2006. He’s also well known for his charitable contributions. In August 2008, he received the Paralyzed Veterans of America’s highest award, “The Patriot Award”, for his support of the PVA and in 2010, he was the recipient of the “Tree of Life” award from the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC). He’s also a co-founder of PokerGives, a charity organization designed to unify the poker industry to help contribute to worthwhile charities.