Poker Alliance Becomes Successor to PPA, Now Calls the Game a Sport

The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) is no more. 

In its place: The Poker Alliance.

President of what is effectively now the defunct Poker Players Alliance, Rich Muny, made the announcement via Twitter Wednesday. 

PPA has evolved into a new organization -- the “Poker Alliance” (http://www.pokeralliance.com ). PPA has been fighting to expand iPoker since '05. Poker Alliance will continue the fight for the rights of poker players & expanding access to poker!

When asked if this was a simple name change, Muny responded that the Poker Alliance is a successor to the PPA.

The new Poker Alliance says it will focus on advocating for the players as opposed to, say, another defunct organization, Full Tilt Poker.  It also now considers poker a sport after spending its entire existence shunning the sports betting sector.

From the new Poker Alliance site:

As online gaming has become more widespread and popular, and following the recent Supreme Court decision invalidating the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA), the sport of poker is ready for a new kind of activism. Poker Alliance will build on the PPA’s over thirteen-year history of working effectively with policy makers, journalists, and industry partners to achieve the best outcomes for players and growth of the game itself. A Poker Alliance advisory board, with the involvement of former Poker Players Alliance presidents Rich Muny and John Pappas, will be announced in due course.

“As gaming culture and the laws around it have shifted, so too has our focus,” said Mark Brenner, president of Poker Alliance. “Poker players deserve to be able to play poker with confidence and safety, and we will expand the PPA’s incredible effort by strategically advocating for our members.”

Much of this year has been spent trying to survive due to fundraising efforts falling short.

- Nagesh Rath, Gambling911.com