Poker players were lobbying Wednesday on Capitol Hill for online gaming to not suffer restrictions imposed by U.S. Internet laws.

The Poker Players Alliance, representing some 800,000 poker enthusiasts as members, a great number of whom are professional players, and more than 15 million Internet poker players in the United States, are upset over current federal online-gambling regulations, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Congress passed a law last fall that restricts online gambling and PPA is opposing that, as well as lobbying for two measures that would exempt poker from the law or from new regulations concerning Internet gambling.

Legislation enacted last year allows online poker playing but forbids U.S. banks and credit card companies from processing payments to online gaming establishments outside the United States.

John Pappas, the group's executive director, insists that poker is a game of skill, not a game of fortune-risking addiction. Pappas brought poker heavyweights to Wednesday’s lobbying, in an effort to convince members of Congress that online poker is not a hazard. Among the 100 members the Alliance is flying in are poker champions Chris Moneymaker, Vanessa Rousso, and Lederer and Annie Duke.

The group is also backing a bill to license and regulate Internet gaming, in general. Pappas argues that a small tax on online poker operators could provide the government with at least a couple of billion dollars in revenue.

Following Wednesday’s lobbying, Pappas told the LA Times that he hopes the current congressional session will bring good news for poker enthusiasts. “We think we have a pretty strong hand, and we're going to continue to play it until the end,” he said.

Those supporting the ban have said that online gambling can be addictive, to the point of making a player lose their entire savings. Pappas said such a ban would be unlikely to put a stop to poker playing: “The idea that we can kind of stop people from doing this seems a bit irrational,” the AP quotes him as saying. He estimates there are between 15 million to 23 million Internet poker players in the U.S. alone.