US Poker Ban - What to do
Posted by sharko Oct 4, 2006 6:22pm ago
Investing often lends itself to analogies with poker. And this type of lightning just struck again in a devastating fashion - except this time the suffering parties are investors in poker companies.
Shareholders in online Poker and gambling companies just got hit by the worst Bad Beat in the games history as up to $7 billion of shareholders' money was wiped out in a day after the US government brought into law the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act which bans credit card companies and other payment providers from processing online gambling transactions.
Immediately a number of the larger firms - including PartyPoker and 888 - said that they would stop allowing US citizens to play on their sites, thus decimating their revenue and profits.
The attitude of the US government towards online gambling is quite bizarre. You can purchase the most perverted pornographic material on the high street (okay well maybe not the high street), and indeed acquire all manner of lethal weaponry, but you can't gamble your own money in the comfort of your own home. No, you have to buy a lotto ticket (regulated by the US government) or go to places like Vegas (also regulated by the US government).
This move follows hot on the heels of recent arrests in the US of directors of online gambling companies.
There is lack of clarity on the exact definitions of the act. It does not clearly ban gambling in casino games such as blackjack and poker. Sports betting is the only form of gambling that is stated as being illegal in the act.
What will happen now?
Will US citizens continue to play poker online in spite of their government's attempts to stop them? If they want to how will they get their money in?
Will all US citizens get their money back from sites that have stopped taking US bets? Some of these companies may be bankrupted by the passage of the act.
I'd be interested in the views of members of the site, particularly any of you who are US citizens?
Comments
Is it a reasonable thing, I ask you, for a grown man to run about and hit a ball? Poker's the only game fit for a grown man. Then, your hand is against every man's, and every man's is against yours. Teamwork? Who ever made a fortune by teamwork? There's only one way to make a fortune, and that's to down the fellow who's up against you.
Marvin
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I not sure if netteller etc. are affected by this bill and several poker rooms (e.g. full tilt) have said that they won't be making any changes as a result of this.