UK Firms Support Online Gambling in the USA

The battle of legalizing online gambling in the United States has been happening since 2006 when the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act or the UIGEA was passed.  The bill states that transferring money through a financial institution to fund an online gambling account is prohibited and against the law.  But it cannot be denied that many problems arose from this bill because what it encompassed was not clear-cut.

Effects of the UIGEA

This bill has not only affected US-owned online casinos, but it has also affected online casinos owned by other nationalities as well, wherein some casinos were even forced to prohibit players from the United States from playing at their games.  Of course, this has infuriated many online gamblers, saying that the bill is stepping on their rights to choose how to spend their money.  On the other hand, online gambling sites owned by other countries are experiencing decreased profit because of the problems arising from American players playing at their sites. [Read][more][...]

Gambling Act or Not, the Popularity of Online Casinos Grows

Despite the Gambling Act, it is a known fact that the popularity of online casinos continues to grow as more and more people are looking at the winnings taken from these online casinos as a way to augment their incomes, especially now that there is a recession.  In fact, the new players that are signing up at these online casinos are getting younger and younger, as stated in a study that was done on the prevalence of online gambling within the younger generation.  Right now, there are so many college students gambling online to support their studies and pay for their daily living.

Why Online Casinos Continue to Thrive

There are a lot of factors that contribute to the growth of the online casinos' popularity.  One, online casinos are easily accessible compared to brick-and-mortar casinos.  With just a click of the mouse, the player can start gambling.  [Read][more][...]

Making Online Poker Legal in the US

For many years now, online gambling, particularly online poker; has been banned in the United States.  You will often see online casinos or online poker sites with a disclaimer stating that US players are not accepted in their respective sites.

This limits the market reach of the online casinos; and likewise takes away the privilege of US residents to enjoy their poker games online.  While much has been said about this prohibition; and many debates have already taken place about the pros and cons of online gambling; the fact remains that US residents are restricted from playing online poker — something that not everyone is happy about.

SENATOR MENENDEZ AND HIS BILL ON ONLINE POKER

Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Senator, has taken it upon himself to end the debate over whether online poker should ever be allowed to be played within the United States jurisdiction.  The Senator's Internet Poker and Games of Skill Regulation, Protection and Enforcement Act proposes that online poker, among others, be made legal in the United States provided that the stipulations disclosed within the Bill be followed. [Read][more][...]

Is Poker Addictive Like Other Forms of Gambling

The answer is it can be for some people who are compulsive and have little will power or just crave the action.  Gamblers Anonymous has a twenty-question form that will help a person realize that they are addicted or becoming addicted.  Some of the key questions are items like have you missed work or school due to gambling?  Have you borrowed money to play? The second part of this question is and the only way you could pay it back was by winning.  Has your gambling or playing caused family problems or caused you to lie?  Many of the questions are so general that many people will answer yes to some of them, but they are not really addicted.  Gambling and drinking have one thing in common to the non-addicted person.  They can really take it or leave it alone at their will and do not have or feel the need to gamble.

One of the addictive traits of a person with this compulsion is that they do not feel alive unless they are in action.  If this becomes an overpowering feeling then the person needs help from people who understand the problem and have found ways to beat the desire to play. [Read][more][...]

The Economy and Poker

For many years the economy was never a bad factor for gambling when the economy was in the dumpster.  A bad economy was always a reason fro people to gamble.  In the thirties the horse racing handles and illegal bookmaking prospered as people tried to supplement their income or lack of it.  Gaming, as we know it now did not exist and the only legal gaming in the United States was the thoroughbred racing industry and the betting pools at the racetrack.  The bad economy of those days was a catalyst that pushed people to gamble.

This is not true with our current economic situation.  The live casinos in many of the big gaming centers are having a tough time keeping their revenue up and this is a distinct change in the usual situation when gaming and the poor economic conditions meet.

Poker is the one area of gambling that seems to continue to grow.  The tournaments all over Europe and the United States are full of not only the pros, but also the satellite-winning amateurs. The prize money continues to grow and the player count in the torments seems to continue to grow or at least not lose players. [Read][more][...]

Could the US Government use $52 Billion

The big accounting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers did a study of the result of taxing and regulating Internet gambling.  Their study indicates that over a ten-year period the income from taxing and regulating Internet gambling could be $51.9 Billion.  This study echoes a similar study done one year before.

This new study has added ammunition to Barney Frank's bill that he introduced, in HR2046, The Internet Gambling and Enforcement Act.  This bill would handle licensing and regulation of the Internet gambling industry in the United States.  The licensing and regulations would be scrupulously enforced and would make online gaming toe the line like they do in Europe.  Congressman Franks plans to reintroduce the bill in March of this year.

The UIGEA law has severely crippled this industry in the US and forced all online casinos to operate outside the country and in many cases the operations have very lax oversight.  [Read][more][...]

Poker Player and Murderer Possibly The Same

A thirty-year-old poker pro was arrested in Las Vegas Monday for the murder of his father and mother in their home in early March of last year.  Ernest Scherer III was arrested for the brutal killing of his Father and Mother in a San Francisco bedroom community of Pleasanton, California.  A person that worked for the Country Club Administration discovered the bodies several days later in the Country Club community.  A phone call from the daughter who lived in Utah alerted them to a possible problem, as she could not get her parents on the phone.

There is some information on a possible motive for the murder.  Scherer III was deep in debt and not doing well in the poker world.  Since turning pro in 2002 he had won $339,000 according to tournament records.  He had a wife and a child that lived in Southern California.  His Father was pressing his son for the return of a $616,000 loan he made to buy his son a home in Brea, California.  This tragic situation was brought on by the mounting debts from gaming, credit card debts and the pressure to repay the home loan.  [Read][more][...]

Is poker a game of skill? A South Carolina judge thinks so

A South Carolina judge by the name of J. L. Duffy stated it so in the middle of the trail of five men arrested for running a weekly game of Holdem.  He was very clear in his surprise statement that Texas Holdem was obviously a game of great skill and he had no doubt about it.  The defendant's attorney was very surprised by the comment and also said that it sounded very good for his clients.

This group of poker players pulled out all of the stops by binging in a real poker player as an expert witness.  Any one that watches the WPT on TV would recognize their expert witness as Mike Sexton who is seen every week commenting on the play during the Weekly WPT tournament.  You may have also seen him playing very well in some live tournaments this last year.

Since this trial is still going on, the verdict is not known yet and both parties state that no matter who wins there will be an appeal to a higher court.  The violation of the law is in dispute as gambling or betting on a chance outcome is illegal.  A game of skill would seem to go in the face of this law, but it is up to the judge how this case will be settled.   Other states, California for example, have used this logic to make poker rooms and the game itself legal using the game of skill logic. [Read][more][...]

WTO and Repeal of the AIGEA Will Bring Pressure to Rid This Prohibition

Europe is considering bringing a claim under the WTO against the USA for hurting their online casinos.   The AIGEA passage forced many online casinos to prohibit US players from playing on their sites.  Europe has long threatened to do something about this economic threat to their online casinos.  There is strong sentiment that now is the time to bring such a filing.  This attack was already carried out earlier by some of the Caribbean Islands with online csinos and won by them against the USA.

The Congressman Barney Frank has already stated he will bring a bill to the floor to repeal the AIGEA and the mood with the new Congress and the need for money may make this happen.  The online casino industry has already stated that it is willing to pay billions in taxes to get American players back online.

This poorly designed law that was added in the middle of the night in 2006 is an absolute joke.  Some hidden agendas were really behind the banking law and had nothing to do with protecting the youth of America as stated.  The protection was found to be racing interest, gaming and gaming on Indian land.  The proof is in the sizeable campaign contributions that were reported by the leaders who got the bill passed in the middle of the night. [Read][more][...]

What the courts are saying and the Steve Martin story

The courts in very recent cases are coming down on the side of poker is a skill game and the player's skill will make a difference over time.  Consistent poker winners are very skillful and do not just depend on luck to win.  These players want to take as much of the gamble out of a played hand as possible.  By doing this they let the poor player depend on luck to win and they have the edge in the game. Like casinos know, having the edge over time will make you a winner.  The more skilled the player, will lead to more winning sessions.

The comedian Steve Martin tells a great poker story.  When he was still playing online he decided to quit playing one night and experienced an Ambien event.   He took the sleeping pill and continued to play.  When he awoke in the morning, he checked his poker account.  He discovered that he had $1500 dollars in his account.  He remembered only having $500 in his account when he took the pill. [Read][more][...]

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