What do you think about the ban on internet gaming?

[accountingsucks]

Don't know if this has been a topic before. About two weeks ago Congress passed a bill that essentially forbids US citiziens to gamble online. This includes things like online poker. This is a pretty hot topic in the online poker community and there are far more US people playing online than you would ever guess. As a Canadian citizen I find it reprehensible that the US gov't is telling people what they can and can not do in their own home. The bill caused several companies traded on the London stock exchange to lose about 70% of their share values overnight....the main one being PartyGaming which was dropped off the FTSE 100 list as it lost around $8 billion in value overnight.

The bill actually contained exemptions for horse racing and fantasy sports leagues as they succomed to lobbying efforts by the horse racing interests. Neither of these things require any skill whereas poker is a game of skill. For the vast majority of players it was a leisurely pursuit and for people like myself it was a supplement of $1000 a month in my income as there were many bonuses put forth by sites. I am sure that some people got in over their heads and lost lots of money, but with this logic they should ban alcohol sales because some people become alcoholics. The U.K. is looking to actually regulate this industry as it is a multi-billion dollar industry.

I am just wondering what non poker players think about this law or if they even care? I'm doubting most people even heard anything about this on the news. Bill Frist was the senator who pushed for this bill to get passed and I"m sure he will use this to cater to the religious right whackos out there as a victory against the evils of online gambling....lol...what has your country become? The bill was attached to the Port Security bill at the last minute which adds to the absurdity of the whole situation. America - land of the free.....not really folks.

 

[ash]

I had not heard of this until last night, at my regular (in person) poker game. Several of the guys were bummed because Bush had signed it into law on Friday. As a precautionary measure, they had pulled their money from their online poker accounts on Thursday...just in case.

I don't know what the details of the law are, but my friends' opinions were that it effectively killed online poker for US residents, as overseas poker sites would no longer accept money from the US.

Land of the free...

I guess the domestic casinos lobbied pretty hard.

 

[accountingsucks]

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15265338/site/newsweek/

Good article on it

 

[Alex]

IMHO, This is just another stupid "nanny state" law that is impossible to enforce.....

 

[Cool Dood]

Goddamn prohibitionists.

For what it's worth, it's essentially impossible to stop movements of wealth and online gambling, so it will still be massive, it will just be done through more gray-market operations than before.

Anyway, my usual big f-you to all the prohibitionists in government, and the ones who support those in government whether right or left. (And no, this doesn't affect me at all, as someone who neither lives in the US nor gambles online.)

 

[astromeria]

People have been rolling the dice in the back room since Biblical times, so good luck with that. I'd rather ban candidates for Congress (and President/Veep) who can't pass a tough written exam on the Constitution. And televangelists.

 

[razztazz]

IMHO, This is just another stupid "nanny state" law that is impossible to enforce.....

It wa smostly Rich people who own on shore gambling interests who wanted this law. Off shore your job? Yes. Offshore your money? No way! It's theirs and they got the Government to prove it! It's nanny state but not for the reason most people think

 

[maddythebeagle]

I dont gamble either....but seems right on that it is meant to keep a monopoly on gambling for the states....I am not too happy with the reigning in of the internet either...

 

[REWahoo]

I'd rather ban candidates for Congress (and President/Veep) who can't pass a tough written exam on the Constitution. And televangelists.

I can understand why political candidates should be tested on their understanding of the Constitution, but why on earth would you want to give them a televangelist exam?

 

[youbet]

Taxes on vises are good! They bring in necessary tax revenue and I don't have to participate! Therefore, bans that keep vise-profits in the USA, and taxed in the USA, are fine with me.

Before this change, it was like having the excise tax on imported booze sent to the exporting country! I don't think so..........

 

[youbet]

It wa smostly Rich people who own on shore gambling interests who wanted this law.

So, you want the taxes being paid by the offshore folks to their country's coffers instead of being paid to USA coffers? Blaaah........ I disagree. USA vises.......taxes go to USA coffers.

 

[Coach]

I agree, accountingsucks. I thought this ban was a dumb idea. But then we actually have government run gambling in the form of lotteries, an even dumber idea. Like you, I sometimes wonder what in the world the USA is coming to.

Coach