Poker’s main lobbying group the Poker Player’s Alliance (PPA), quick to criticize anything that does not promote or forward its pro-online poker agenda, is blasting an Internet poker mogul’s decision to cooperate with U.S. officials.

Anurag Dikshit, co-founder of Party Gaming Ltd, the parent company of online poker room Party Poker (www.partypoker.com), last week agreed to forfeit $300 million to the U.S. Justice Department for violating a U.S. law called the Federal Wire Act, which prohibits using telephones to faciliate gambling.

He was neither indicted nor arrested.

The Federal Wire Act was put into law in the 1960s, as part of an effort by then-Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy to combat organized crime by cracking down on sports betting, widely done via phone. The Act became law decades before the existence of the Internet.

Party Poker at one time allowed customers from the USA. The Internet uses phone lines to transmit some data.

Dikshit is a native of India who resides in Gibraltar. Poker Stars operates from the Isle of Man, a British protectorate in the British Isles.

“The Poker Players Alliance is disappointed to learn of Anurag Dikshit’s guilty plea to the Department of Justice under the Wire Act,” said Al D’Amato, the former New York senator who is now chairman/head paid flack for the PPA, in a news release.

“To be clear, as a private settlement between two parties, this plea does not change existing law in the United States, nor does it establish any kind of precedent moving forward,” D’Amato said.

“The deal further clouds the U.S. regulatory and legal environment as it relates to online poker. Previously, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the highest court to hear such a case, ruled that the Wire Act should only apply to Internet wagers on sporting events or contests.

“Additionally, certain types of online wagering, such as horse betting, are allowed under the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), yet are considered illegal under the Wire Act according to the Department of Justice.

“This disagreement among Federal law enforcement and lawmakers results in confusion for the millions of Americans who legally play online poker in this country. We hope legislators in the upcoming Congress will take note of this disparity and pass legislation that affirms poker’s legal status and responsibly regulates the online poker industry.”

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