PokerStars' Parent Company Hires Capitol Hill LobbyistAmaya Gaming Brings On The Help Of CSA Strategies: Report |
|
Amaya Gaming, the parent company of industry-leading PokerStars, has hired Capitol Hill lobbying group CSA Strategies, according to a report from The Hill.
The report said that the hire is related to “the licensing of Internet gaming and poker.” Alejandro Urrea, former counsel to the House Financial Services Committee, will be behind the pro-online poker efforts.
The news comes as the Sheldon Adelson-backed lobbying group called The Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling hired another firm to help with its efforts to roll back the clock and ban online casino games nationwide, according to the report.
The last online poker hearing on Capitol Hill was held late last year, and it went horribly for supporters of the bill to restore the Wire Act. Testimony late in the hearing was clearly in favor of online poker. The haven’t been any additional hearings planned for the anti-online poker bill.
In lieu of any federal legislation either for or against online casino games for real money, individual states have taken a look at regulating the games on their own. Currently, Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware are the only states with the Internet casino games, but Michigan, California, Pennsylvania and New York are all seriously considering the industry.