BLOG - Land of the Free, unless you just want a harmless game of poker

BLOG - Land of the Free, unless you just want a harmless game of poker

Wednesday, 8 December 2010

Yeah, didn't see this one coming. The good news is that the USA could be looking at legal, regulated poker online by the end of next week. The bad news is that the bill it's attached to was written by a man with no clue about online poker, nor does he care for the players.

Basically, if this happens, there will be a 15-month blackout period where no US player can play online poker - i.e. creating the nightmare scenario that the UIGEA never quite did. This is so sites such as PokerStars and Full Tilt will start on "an even field" with any brick and mortar casinos that want to move online. Oh, and when it is over the US sites will be US-only for two years. So kind of the opposite problem to now.


In the long term there will be no site on which players from the US and the rest of the world can compete. In the long term, the market in the US will be decimated as many pros give up the game in search of employment that their interfering, nannying government approves of. In the long term, this bill is terrible for poker. I'd rather it continue as it is than this happen.

 
The thing that makes me most angry is why does online poker have opposition from government figures? Hell, why does anything? If people want to play poker then let them, you mothering idiots. It won't kill anybody.



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