PPA On Brink of Shutting Down?

The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) was established in 2005, and over the ensuing years has fought hard to represent the interests of poker companies hoping to offer their products stateside, as well as the poker community as a whole in the country. Despite in the past receiving funding from operators such as PokerStars and the PPA’s more than 1 million members, however, the organization is currently facing a severe funding shortfall that threatens its very existence.
The PPA president Rich Muny recently relayed the stark news to the organization’s supporters by email, with its new head expressing concern that the “significant reduction in donations” takes place at a time when the PPA has enjoyed some its greatest success, including helping to get online gambling legislation passed in Pennsylvania:
“We now find ourselves possibly shutting down right before what could be the biggest year for iPoker and iGaming yet.”
Elaborating further, Muny said that the PPA would be unable to continue its fight for online poker unless it received $25,000 in donations by the end of March. Needless to say, the PPA undertakes countless daily actions that require a great deal of effort and money in order to effectively push for online poker legislation, including research, contacting legislators, and lobbying around the country.
As the PPA does not charge a membership fee, it therefore relies upon the donations of its members and those who believe in the group’s goals in order to survive. Unfortunately, many interested parties have lost faith in the PPA in recent times, though, with donations having fallen from $5 million per year four years ago to their present level of around $2 million. Highlighting the importance of ensuring that donations do not drop any further, PPA president Rich Muny explained:
“Every dollar donated will go toward core operational expenses of our grassroots communications and advocacy, as our communications tools are crucial to PPA’s mission. Please be sure to help ensure PPA’s continued leadership for our game!”
With time running out before the lack of PPA funding reaches a critical point, it is now up to the poker industry and community to decide whether there is an appetite to allow the organization to keep fighting on their behalf, or else be allowed to fade from history all together.