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PPA Submits Amicus Brief in KY Online Gambling Case, ContinuesGrassroots Deluge on Beshear

Document Cites Poker as a Legal Game of Skill Under KY Law

WASHINGTON, DC. (September 26, 2008)

–The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members nationwide, todaysubmitted an amicus brief to the Franklin Circuit Court in Kentucky regarding the state’s caseordering a seizure of domain names of 141 online gambling websites. The PPA contends that poker, including online poker, is indeed legal under Kentucky state law and is a game of skill,not chance. As such, the basis for the state’s seizure of poker-only website domain names isunfounded.“The actions by the state of Kentucky are not only extreme, but groundless in that it can beclearly proven that poker is indeed a game of skill and not chance and thereby poker Web sitesshould not be part of the state’s action,” said John Pappas, executive director of the PPA. “Theamicus brief filed on behalf of the PPA today proves this.”Key points of the amicus brief include:

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Extensive research citing expert opinion that poker is indeed a game of skill;

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References to academic, gaming and artificial intelligence experts citing the fact that skillis an essential element to winning at poker, be it against a human or a computer;

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Unequivocal consensus among experts that in the long run a skilled poker player will beatan unskilled poker player;

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Kentucky state law asserts that “a contest or game in which eligibility to participate isdetermined by chance and

the ultimate winner is determined by skill shall not beconsidered gambling

” [emphasis added];

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Under Kentucky law, poker is a lawful game of skill because the facts can easily sustain afinding that skill of the player predominates over chance in determining outcome;

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The current case provides no evidence to suggest that any of the poker games played onany of the 141 websites in question are based on chance as opposed to skill;

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Cases in other states as well as a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) letter verify that skill is the dominant factor in the game of poker; and

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The case raises First Amendment free speech issues in restricting residents’ access to poker websites that contain news, blogs and forums as well as the ability to play poker.