It might be legal to gamble online soon(news.yahoo.com)
news.yahoo.com
It might be legal to gamble online soon
http://news.yahoo.com/gambling-gets-boost-obama-administration-113418228--spt.html
9 comments
Win-win for the politically connected oligopolies ( tribes, states, vegas ). Equation stays lose-lose for everyone else ( startups, customers ). And of course there is still UIGEA. So, don't get your hopes up.
The UIGEA no longer applies to internet poker because internet poker is no longer unlawful (the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act).
Tell that to Absolute Poker exec Brent Beckley who just pleaded guilty to charges that included violations of UIGEA
edit: And this clarification of the Wire Act changes nothing as to the legality of online poker.
edit: And this clarification of the Wire Act changes nothing as to the legality of online poker.
Well said. It's disgusting.
Yes, this is finally happening. The fact that states like Nevada and California are pushing for intra-state legislation will probably make the federal government scurry to pass a bill (likely HR2366, which everyone speculated would pass by Thanksgiving of this year). While sites like PartyPoker could hypothetically start allowing Americans to play right now, they aren't going to ruin their chance to tap into the market without getting formal licenses, whether that happens at a state or federal level.
The brick and mortar casinos will be the first candidates to get licenses to run real money sites regardless, and guys like myself will have to pull some strings to get our little platforms into the market. But hey, there's always the Zynga poker business model (sell X play chips for $Y; no prizes for winning aside from being able to play in "high stakes" play money games) to tide us over until then.
The first decade of the twenty-first century was the "wild west" of online poker. A number of times I've had my bankrolls on various sites disappear as they shut down and run with the money- similar to getting robbed at gunpoint in a high stakes showdown in the days of the Texas road gamblers, or Mississippi riverboat poker games. We're headed for a safe, regulated form of the American pastime, and although it will likely be taxed viciously, there is a very good chance that we'll see another poker boom like that started when Chris Moneymaker won the main event of the 2003 World Series of Poker.
The brick and mortar casinos will be the first candidates to get licenses to run real money sites regardless, and guys like myself will have to pull some strings to get our little platforms into the market. But hey, there's always the Zynga poker business model (sell X play chips for $Y; no prizes for winning aside from being able to play in "high stakes" play money games) to tide us over until then.
The first decade of the twenty-first century was the "wild west" of online poker. A number of times I've had my bankrolls on various sites disappear as they shut down and run with the money- similar to getting robbed at gunpoint in a high stakes showdown in the days of the Texas road gamblers, or Mississippi riverboat poker games. We're headed for a safe, regulated form of the American pastime, and although it will likely be taxed viciously, there is a very good chance that we'll see another poker boom like that started when Chris Moneymaker won the main event of the 2003 World Series of Poker.
Most of the mainstream media is sadly over-stating this. Although this is welcome clarification on the Wire Act, online gambling still falls under UIGEA and IGBA laws. The Black Friday indictments did not make use of the Wire Act specifically because of the ambiguity.
For further reading from the online poker media:
http://pokerfuse.com/news/law-legislation/department-justice...
http://craakker.blogspot.com/2011/12/why-doj-wire-act-opinio...
For further reading from the online poker media:
http://pokerfuse.com/news/law-legislation/department-justice...
http://craakker.blogspot.com/2011/12/why-doj-wire-act-opinio...
This was always going to happen. It was only banned in the first place to clear the field of foreign companies that dominated the market. So now - 6 years later - american companies have finally caught up, it's time to repeal the ban.
Side note: I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing. I mean if someone's going to profit off the misery and suffering of addicts, it might as well be their fellow countrymen.
EDIT: re:"it was only banned" : I know it was technically illegal, however I suspect that wouldn't have been an issue if it was a field dominated by american companies.
Side note: I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing. I mean if someone's going to profit off the misery and suffering of addicts, it might as well be their fellow countrymen.
EDIT: re:"it was only banned" : I know it was technically illegal, however I suspect that wouldn't have been an issue if it was a field dominated by american companies.
Interesting point. If / when online poker is legal do you think off-shore companies like PokerStars will move their operations to the US? Will that be part of the deal to allow US players back to their gaming platforms?
As a side note, I hope this continues to move forward. I would gladly pay taxes on my poker winnings and receive checks from legitimate banks as opposed to the KBG Bank of Canada (or something like that) where I used to get my checks from in the past.
As a side note, I hope this continues to move forward. I would gladly pay taxes on my poker winnings and receive checks from legitimate banks as opposed to the KBG Bank of Canada (or something like that) where I used to get my checks from in the past.
Very possible.
Taxes have to be collected and money laundering legislation must be enforceable -
not to mention all the "protective" internet legislation you guys seem to be getting recently...
...!
Taxes have to be collected and money laundering legislation must be enforceable -
not to mention all the "protective" internet legislation you guys seem to be getting recently...
...!
Man, a second poker boom would be amazing...
I don't undertand how the article, which mostly talks about state lotteries, implies anything about online poker.
from the article:
"Until now, the department held that online gambling in all forms was illegal under the Wire Act of 1961, which bars wagers via telecommunications that cross state lines or international borders.
The new interpretation, by the department's Office of Legal Counsel, said the Wire Act applies only to bets on a "sporting event or contest," not to a state's use of the Internet to sell lottery tickets to adults within its borders or abroad."
- basically, they restricted the interpretation of the Wire Act to be specific to sports gambling, and nothing else (such as poker)
"Until now, the department held that online gambling in all forms was illegal under the Wire Act of 1961, which bars wagers via telecommunications that cross state lines or international borders.
The new interpretation, by the department's Office of Legal Counsel, said the Wire Act applies only to bets on a "sporting event or contest," not to a state's use of the Internet to sell lottery tickets to adults within its borders or abroad."
- basically, they restricted the interpretation of the Wire Act to be specific to sports gambling, and nothing else (such as poker)
Isn't online poker a "contest"?
Step 1: Get rid of offshore casino sites
Step 2: Make gambling legal and tax
Step 3: Profit
Step 2: Make gambling legal and tax
Step 3: Profit
The Internet after SOPA: Government approved liquor sales and gambling, no unauthorized websites.
Edit: Good point by cellis below. Still, I think legalizing activities via connected interests is progress compared to fake illegalizing that exists currently.