Lobby group the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) spent almost a million dollars last year to lobby the Federal government on online gambling legislation.

According to a disclosure form filed with the U.S. Senate’s Public Records Office and obtained by the Associated Press, the PPA spent approximately $900,000 in 2007 to lobby for a bill that would exempt poker from a law that restricts online gambling, and for legislation that would regulate the Internet gaming industry.

Of that $900,000, approximately $780,000 was spent in the second half of 2007, the A.P. reported.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which was passed by the U.S. Congress in 2006, severely restricts online gambling in the USA by prohibiting American credit card companies from processing online gambling transactions.

The PPA claims to have about 800,000 members, although many, if not most, of them have not paid a membership fee to join the organization.

The PPA is chaired by former New York Senator Al D’Amato, who is a paid lobbyist for numerous organizations.

According to sources, D’Amato’s annual salary from the PPA is $5 million.

So far, the PPA for the most part has been impotent–it has failed to get any laws passed that reverse or weaken UIGEA.

(E-mail Tom Somach at tomsomach@yahoo.com.)