Casino group the American Gaming Association (AGA) today released a list of six guidelines that forms a code of conduct for companies operating in any federal online poker market. The code of conduct outlines what they would expect of all companies providing online poker services to customers in the US.
The code of conduct for US licensed online poker companies contains six points and is set out as follows:
1. Submit to Extensive Background Investigations of the Company and Key Personnel
2. Ensure Proper Identification of Every U.S. Online Poker Player
3. Submit to Regular Testing and Auditing of Online Poker Software
4. Implement Effective Player Exclusion Processes
5. Incorporate Effective Responsible Gaming Protections on Their Sites
6. Implement Effective Anti-Money-Laundering Procedures
(You can find the full Code of Conduct is at this link)
The latest release comes after the AGA publicly embraced the similar set of “10 principles” that was released by FairPlayUSA. The group’s agenda could easily see it described as the Diet Coke to Frank Fahrenkopf’s full-fat, full-flavor Coca-Cola aka the AGA. The only difference that seems to emerge between the two is one group owns casinos and the other would like to help out those that own casinos.
FPUSA has received funding from Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts and operates as an Astroturf outfit attempting to become the master of disguise but failing miserably. Their efforts pale into insignificance when you compare them to the AGA. The $641k spent in Q2 2011 on lobbying Congress for online poker was a new record and will stimulate chatter around the coming months being busy.
The creation of FPUSA and publication of the AGA’s Code of Conduct fuels speculation that those linked to the US land-based casinos are set for a “big push” for federal online poker regulation this fall. Saying that, this new set of guidelines won’t mean anything if no regulation happens though, something that is a distinct possibility at federal level – in addition to it being far from certain on a state-by-state basis.
