Yikes Online Poker Is In Trouble!!!

[GTS Mark]

Congress may deliver a blow to gamblers who prefer going online to going to Las Vegas.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/07/....ap/index.html

DH

[Dion]

ouch that sucks!

[flashbang]

fuck congress, we shall just install video poker machines at their debate tables

[notabook]

Man the Christian right are a bunch of fucking nutjobs.

"Critics say policing the Internet is impossible and that it would be better to regulate the $12 billion industry and collect taxes on it."

That would be a nice junk of change in taxes stupid assfucks. Oh well... that being said, Fox News is the only place for fair and balanced news

[Sosa]

more states should legalize video poker. They would own the fucking machines and make more $$ in tax money on the deal. Fuck the dumbasses that get addicted to it Legalize it and let me open some up here

[BlackCrayon]

they're just pissed that a lot of the money is going offshore.

[SportsBook]

I would say the chances are very slim to pass through into a law.
Remember it needs to also pass the Senate - which where this type of stuff has always failed in the past. Also if by chance it does pass there it would need to be in conference to make the House and Senate versions both pass.

Now if this happens and the man signs it into a law - then the challenges will start coming like a motherfucker.

Lets hope it doesnt get to this point. One thing is for sure - our industry sure needs a Larry Flynt type of character to stepup and fight these idiots.

[DraX]

im not worried

[SomeCreep]

Even with GWB in office, I cant see a bill that extreme actually passing.

[gooddomains]

long time awaited

[madawgz]

ouch, that might hurt :\

[Kimo]

fuck man that is not good...

[NoCarrier]

OH NO!!! Does this mean that Poker Night Live will go off the air?

[bknoob]

nooooooooooooooo

[BoyAlley]

and would allow authorities to work with Internet providers to block access to gambling Web sites.

YAY our government will start banning websites nationally like China does!

All your freedoms are belong to Jebus!

[Mr. Romance]

Perfect more taxes....


Mr. Romance

[vicki]

there isn't a snowballs chance in hell of it passing so we can relax

Heck the US gambling houses that formerly lobbied HARD to have it banned have changed their minds. Now even Harrah's (who earlier opposed) is sponsoring tournaments via AOL ! lol

[Damian_Maxcash]

Again the US govt seems to be ignoring the fact that it CANT control what people do on the net.

If it blocks the CC companies people will just use other pay services - Epass and the like will make a killing. Block via the ISPs and the poker software will just use proxies. It just drives more of the money offshore.

It seems that Bush wants to lose the ever decreasing control the US has over the net ATM

[NTSS]

Some nationally known top poker players are actively opposing this...we will how it goes.

[CherryLipsRosa]

i doubt they will do anything about it now

[Icy]

Here are best lines i have read in a long time, they could also apply for online porn that is the other devil for the stupid hypocrites. Read specialy the last four lines that i marked in Bold.

March 17, 2006

GOP Misses Mark on Internet Gambling Ban

by Radley Balko

Radley Balko is a policy analyst at the Cato Institute.

Internet gambling is already prohibited, at least in most forms. The companies that operate casino, sports betting, and poker websites are all based offshore, and most of their executives risk arrest if they ever step foot on American soil.

But web-based gambling is still a $12 billion industry. And so just as has happened every other time our government has attempted to ban vice (see illicit drugs, prostitution, and alcohol), efforts to ban online gambling have not only failed, they've created more problems than they've solved.

Because the government has banned the "bet taking" side of online gaming, gambling proprietors have simply set up shop in countries where gambling is legal. That keeps them out of reach of U.S. laws, but thanks to the Internet, still well within the reach of U.S. customers. That makes the people who play these sites highly susceptible to fraud, with no recourse in U.S. courts should they be bilked out of their money.

It also makes offshore gaming a prime target for organized crime and international terrorism, given that there's no U.S. government oversight.

For now, the "bet placing" side of Internet gambling is still legal (there's some debate on this point, but most experts agree that the government can't and won't arrest you for placing a bet from your computer). Which is why, despite that it's illegal, Americans still wager billions of dollars online.

That's where this trio of congressmen comes in. Rep. Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, Sen. John Kyl of Arizona, and Rep. Jim Leach of Iowa are all upset that there are some people out there who still see gambling as the moral transgression they do. So each has proposed a bill to go after the "bet placing" side of Internet gambling.

The bills are complicated, and what finally comes out of Congress is likely to be some sort of compromise between the three. But it's safe to say that none of the Congressmen are interested (yet) in arresting actual gamblers. However, that doesn't make what they're proposing any less disturbing. Instead, the bills aim to "deputize" companies like banks and Internet service providers (ISPs) to sniff out the illegal activity of their customers.

For example, Congress may end up asking ISPs to block out gaming sites from their customers, to ban websites on their server from linking to gaming sites, or to monitor the browsing habits of their customers.

Or they may force your bank to closely monitor where your money goes, and to block any transaction not only with an offshore gaming site, but with companies that facilitate transactions between banks and gaming sites.

The privacy implications of such measures are disturbing enough. But there's also something troubling about asking private companies to become de facto law enforcement agencies (a practice that started with aggressive money laundering laws).

Depending on which version of the various Internet gambling prohibition bills passes, these companies could also end up bearing staggering compliance costs. Which, of course, they'll then pass on to consumers.

These are important issues, and they deserve an honest debate. Unfortunately, the supporters of the three bills currently under consideration aren't interested in honest debate. All are pushing their bills as part of "lobbying reform," or the GOP's attempt to save face after many of its members have succumbed to their own moral failings.

Rep. Goodlatte and Sen. Kyle in particular have attempted to push their bills as "anti-Jack Abramoff" measures, referring to the now-disgraced lobbyist. I debated Rep. Goodlatte on his bill a couple of weeks ago, and was surprised when he spent most of his time talking not about the merits of his legislation, but about how passing his bill would send an important message to the American people about lobbying and corruption in Congress.

If you're wondering what slapping a ban on the millions of Americans who wager money online has to do with the Republican Party's moral shortcomings in Washington, well, so was I.

Apparently, the reasoning goes something like this: "Because of Jack Abramoff, Congress' previous attempts to ban Internet gambling failed. So Congress should ban Internet gambling to show that it's not under the influence of Jack Abramoff."

The odd thing is, contrary to what the anti-gambling folks would have you believe, Abramoff didn't want to legalize Internet gambling. He wanted to prohibit it--but in a way that carved out exceptions for his high-rolling clients. (Abramoff's clients were a company that helped state lotteries sell tickets online, and the Indian casinos.) The various bills now under consideration are remarkably similar to the bill Jack Abramoff wanted passed.

As I mentioned, the current gambling bills are complicated. But knowledgeable people on both sides of the debate generally agree that by the time all is said and done, none of these three bills will actually ban Internet gambling. They'll ban gambling for all but those gambling interests that have politically powerful allies in Congress. Which is exactly what Jack Abramoff wanted.

State lotteries, for example, will almost certainly be able to continue to sell tickets online (it's curious how addicted state governments have become to the money generated from those "evil" games of chance, isn't it?). Horse racing is also widely expected to escape any attempt at prohibiting online bets (the anti-gambling crusader Mr. Goodlatte, interestingly enough, has taken some $10,000 in campaign contributions from the National Thoroughbred Racing Association).

Online fantasy football will stay safe, too (previous attempts to ban this growing hobby have met with furious opposition).


The funny thing is, online gaming sites are begging to be legalized and regulated. A better approach would be to allow them to set up shop in the U.S., contribute to the U.S. economy, be regulated by U.S. markets, and be subject to U.S. courts.

Of course, that approach would require Congress to treat Americans as adults, and understand that we ought to be free to spend our own money as we please. Even in ways some morally crusading Congressmen happen to find distasteful.

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6003

I think it would benefit a lot the USA citizens to make porn and gambling 100% legal and then regulate it to make sure there are no minors accesing it, that there is zero fraud etc. Right now they are just loosing taxes income and leaving the USA citizens unprotected against fraud from other countries where USA laws don't apply. Of course it won't ever happen in this world full of hypocrites.

[Chris1sMe]

I just play for fun anyways no cc charges for me

[polle54]

damn that sucks

glad I am in europe

[MaddCaz]

I miss Dave Chappelle!

[Bdiddy]

Originally Posted by notabook

Oh well... that being said, Fox News is the only place for fair and balanced news

All the other news networks read books...assholes!!!!

[Bdiddy]

Originally Posted by MaddCaz

I miss Dave Chappelle!

I miss freedom.

Wait a minute, I turned 18 in 2001...Ive never really experienced it.

[V_RocKs]

Wouldn't do much of anything...

Now I can just use the credit card to buy e-gold or webmoney and then use that to pay for the gambling... nothing solved...

[scottybuzz]

Originally Posted by NoCarrier

OH NO!!! Does this mean that Poker Night Live will go off the air?

That gamecube is tiny compared to that huge tv!

[faegan]

Ahhhh, if only us americans would get off our asses and fight for something WE want for a change instead of continuing to allow the Govt to tell us what is best for us...........

[Tdog]

Isnt the House the represntitives of the People? I dont remember the people putting a vote to this.

[Nightwind]

Truly the land of the free.