MyPokerBasics states that the online poker shutdown will have a long-term negative effect on the fate of competitive gaming in the future.
The website MyPokerBasics discovered today that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s proposal to legalize online poker within the United States is far from being defeated as previously expected. In fact, speculation has run rampant through Washington this week that since the start of the online poker shutdown, many longstanding opponents of regulated online gambling within the United States are starting to see a much clearer picture. Instead of allowing websites like Sportsbook Poker to serve US players from a foreign market, it is anticipated that the tax repercussions alone will be enough to pass this bill into law.
“The statistics do not lie,” said Kevin Smith, a project director at the website MyPokerBasics. “You have over six billion dollars bet inside online poker rooms annually and about 80% of that comes from the American market. If the US legalized online poker and allowed the states to regulate gaming within each region, you’re talking about a whole lot more tax revenue for schools and other departmental budgets. How could the members of Congress say no to that much free revenue in this type of economy?”
While there are still plenty opposed to the merits of online poker for real money, it is difficult to get past the fact that the United States already has millions of residents that place wagers over the internet already. While the legislation under the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act of 2007 loosely points out that games of chance over the internet could be considered “illegal online gambling,” gaming operations like Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars were quick to point out that poker is a game of skill. Although the difference in terminology does little to make online poker legal, it has also made prosecution of foreign businesses under the UIGEA difficult.
“I’m not here to argue over the merits of the UIGEA,” replied Smith when asked if online poker is legal inside the United States, “because obviously it falls into a grey area. I can tell you, however, that poker is undoubtedly a game if skill, despite what opponents may say. For example, I remember a hand not too long ago when I re-raised an opponent that was sitting on trip kings…I had a flush draw. His hand obviously beat mine at the time that he folded; did I win that hand from chance or skill?”
The glaring difference that MyPokerBasics revealed in the case of Full Tilt Poker, Ultimate Bet, PokerStars, and Absolute Poker was that they were accused of using US-based financial institutions to process payments for citizens within this country. It is unclear whether or not deceptive methods were used to make it appear that these were legitimate transactions or not, but under the UIGEA it really does not matter. It is clearly specified that both direct and indirect financial transactions between banks and online gambling establishments is prohibited.
“For now,” added Smith, “there are still a few poker websites out there accepting US players but we really do not know where the government is headed with these recent crackdowns. Sportsbook Poker claims to be in compliance with the UIGEA and they do not transfer money from US banks, so they’re probably the best option at this time.”
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