Forum Moderators: skibum
Far from slowing its growth, a government crackdown on online gambling has sent many sites offshore, and many others underground. But it's a good bet that Internet poker will remain a booming industry.
Wow! Who woulda thunk! Isn't Congress supposed to be protecting people and stopping bad practices and the bad guys?
I hope Congress has more success protecting the really vulnerable . . like the aging U.S. population, the young folk just entering the labor market, kids who can't pay for college, those needing healthcare but who can't afford it, . .
I feel the urge to register a domain dealing with Congress being deeply mired in the business of spin not substance. There is no bottom to the spin-not-substance pit.
Legislators still don't understand the web is not a big surprise really. That they do NOT understand human nature, THAT's a shock.
I thought at the time it was a political publicity stunt.
I couldn't agree more with this statement.
[worldwinner.com...]
It's legal to gamble on these sites because they are deemed "games of skill", but that's cool because everyone knows that kids HATE video games and would much rather being playing holdem. :)
Also, isn't there a number of challenges coming to the fore on the technicalities of the bill itself and one particular 'unlawful' component?
WTO Rules U.S. Web Gaming Ban Illegal; Shares Jump
The U.S. ban on offshore Internet gambling payments is illegal, the World Trade Organization said today, upholding a previous decision that allowed for possible sanctions.
From Bloomberg [bloomberg.com]
But, there is no logic. If there were, online gambling on horse racing would not have been purposely left out.
It's prohibition. Look, I hang around (for the most part) a group of pretty affluent 30-somethings and nearly all of them play poker online for cash (or did). Same for sports betting. You know who wins? The bookies of course. Organized crime is dancing in the streets at all the action they just took back.
sorry for the rant - hate big brother protecting me). Soon they will tell me to stop smoking...oh...forget it :)
Prohibition of alcohol had the same problem, it was just way too easy to make alcohol.
-- One of the things I was getting at in my typical annoying style was that poker IS A GAME OF SKILL. If not, why do the same damn people win every year in every major tournament? Are they really lucky? There was no reason at all to lump poker in with this but leave out stuff like backgammon.--
I don't think anyone's banning Poker, they're banning playing games for money.
Anyway, more than sorry to say, but the U.S. seems to be very much on skid row in these days not only with chasing out gambling sites and such tragedies like the Iraq operation.
At least it is good, that some 3rd world Offshore locations do benefit from revenues and new jobs.
I don't think anyone's banning Poker, they're banning playing games for money.
Did you read my post? Obviously not. They laws are specifically against some games and not others.
That realy does depend on the level of play, and luck most definatly does come in to it.
But, back to topic, why is it that betting on basketball, football, etc was deemed illegal but betting on HORSES online is perfectly fine?
They have more effective lobbyists.
They have more effective lobbyists.
It's not just the horse and dog racing lobbyists, it's also the state and regional lottery lobbyists.
Politicians love some of these kinds of things, because it means more money for the states, which means more money for the politicians to win. They can claim the lottery money is going towards school funding or welfare or whatever, but chances are not all of it is.
A lot of casinos also spend a lot of money lobbying so that neighboring states don't get casinos. I've heard this happens with Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana - that casinos in Oklahoma and Louisiana lobby Texas politicians like crazy to keep casinos out of Texas, so that Texans gamblers continue to make their trek to Oklahoma and Louisiana.
Every type of gambling I can think of, except for a pure lottery, is a game of skill. If you know how to play blackjack, dice, even the slot machines, you'll do a lot better in the long run than someone who doesn't know where the odds lie.
The US government thought the new law would stop US money going offshore.
It didn't *surprise*
The only question now is whether they try again, driving it yet further offshore / underground, or they legalise and regulate in order keep the cash in the USA.
One guess is allowed.
You guessed they'd legalise and regulate?
WRONG!* :)
Paypal $1,000 immediately.
You guessed they'd try again?
RIGHT!* :)
You win $1,000,000 credit, to be spent on this site, and gambled until you lose the lot.
Skill? How much skill does anyone need to outguess a government?
*I was joking. you knew that, right?
Maybe poker could be called a "game of skill", but so what? You're creating a false dichotomy between "skill" and "gambling". By what possible definition could playing poker not be considered gambling?Every type of gambling I can think of, except for a pure lottery, is a game of skill. If you know how to play blackjack, dice, even the slot machines, you'll do a lot better in the long run than someone who doesn't know where the odds lie.
My point exactly. The government has no idea where it stands. Some games are legal to for one to GAMBLE online and some are not. Eh...no real reason to vent, it has little to do with aff marketing, other than the simple fact that gaming affiliates in the USA have to worry about breaking the law. Whether the law is absurd or not is for another forum I guess.
