Maybe online poker will come back the U.S.

The U.S. ban on internet gambling violates the rules of the World Trade Organization:

The general rule in the world of international trade agreements is that a country must treat foreign goods and services in the same manner as it treats domestic ones. The United States, the trade body found, permits online wagering through sites like Youbet.com, a publicly traded company that allows visitors to place bets at horse racing tracks around the globe.

And, of course, some form of casino gambling is legal in more than 30 states, and even local governments advertise gambling services when states encourage people to buy a lottery ticket.

“This isn’t a case of forcing gambling on a population that has decided they don’t like it,” Mr. Mendel said. “This is the world’s biggest consumer and exporter of gambling services trying to prohibit a small country from developing its economy by offering these same services. And we find that deeply hypocritical.”

I sure hope that online poker comes back to the United States. I miss it.

Furthermore, I don't really see how the ban is protecting the public. The poor stupid people tend to gamble by buying lottery tickets. Most online poker players are sophisticated enough to protect their own interests. The barriers to entry--a computer with an internet connection, a credit card, and complicated rules--prevent the dumbest elements of society from playing. But someone without a credit card, without a computer, and too stupid to figure out Texas Hold'em, can still blow his paycheck (cashed at a ripoff check cashing place) on lottery tickets.

If the anti-gambling laws were to make any sense, lotteries would be illegal and not online poker.

Comments

[JewishAtheist]

If the anti-gambling laws were to make any sense, lotteries would be illegal and not online poker.

Hey, we agree on something!

Yes, that really makes no sense whatsoever. Has it always been banned here?

[Peter]

IINM, the government wants to stop online poker not out of concern over problem gambling, but because it's too hard to tax winnings.

[Turambar]

I think the issue was that it was seen as a possible back door money transfer system.

You could have sleeper agents in the US and send funds to them by feeding chips in a poker game.

The ban is unfortunate since it unduly effect thought leaders and thereby undermines support for the WOT.

[David Alexander]

IINM, the government wants to stop online poker not out of concern over problem gambling, but because it's too hard to tax winnings.

Which makes very little since with the ban on online gambling, there are no winnings to tax in the first place. I suspect the problem is with real-world casinos fearing their online competition, and lobbying various members of Congress to enact legislation to supress their competition.

Maybe on-line gambling is illegal because the state/federal gov't can't regulate it enough (tax/control it), if at all, for their tastes. If they can figure out how to tax or regulate it, I have no doubt it will become legal. I don't gamble online or anywhere else so I could be wrong about the gov't not getting a piece of the action for online stuff. It could like illegal alcohol sales with the moonshiners. The state/fed gov'ts don't give a damn if some guy running a still is making good shit or not, whether it is as good as he says it is, came through a 57 Chevy radiator, the right proof, has antifreeze in it, etc...but they sure give a damn that he isn't paying taxes on it and neither are his customers. I also have a damn good pruno recipe. I'll post it just in case any readers here are doing time.

[Mark]

I was hoping the gambling ban would lead to an anonymous payment system, which would lead to the end of income taxation, but so far, I haven't seen it.

[Spungen]

With long blond hair reaching his shoulders and dozens of cloth bracelets peeking out from under his sleeves, Mark E. Mendel hardly conjures up the image of a typical lawyer.

Guess the writer hasn't met many other plaintiff attorneys.

[David Alexander]

Could one explain for those of us who are not in the legal industry?

[Spungen]

Plaintiff attorneys represent injured parties, usually in tort claims, usually on contingency. This isn't a personal injury case, but it is a (somewhat unusual) plaintiff's case. Like public defenders, plaintiff attorneys have a less conservative image than the typical attorney.

[the professor]

Here's the problem that I see with online gambling:

the poker company will be based on a place like Monaco or some unheard island in the Pacific. Their income will not be taxed by US even if the customers are from US. It's too hard to track the customer's country. The IP addresses refresh too quickly and WHOIS is just wrong for many of them.

So basically, this will be a way of stealing money from americans by foreigners which the government can't tax.

[SFG]

Hey, Spungen. Who are the nerdiest lawyers?

[Half Sigma]

the professor: "Here's the problem that I see with online gambling: the poker company will be based on a place like Monaco or some unheard island in the Pacific. Their income will not be taxed by US ..."

That's only because it's illegal to operate the business in the U.S. If Congress made it legal, then the companies would be based in the U.S. and would be subject to U.S. income tax on any profits.

[David Alexander]

Like public defenders, plaintiff attorneys have a less conservative image than the typical attorney.

That probably explains why the attorney (and his office) for my cousin's lawsuit didn't fulfill my stereotype of the well dressed TV lawyer, nor was his staff professional looking as well.

[bbartlog]

I still play online poker. It is now fairly difficult to transfer funds from the US to one of the online operators, but it is still possible to cash out (the company will send you a check from an intermediary with a very generic name). So if you win consistently and keep a decent bankroll online you can still be in business.

[DML]

Why are there ANY gambling laws? People should be able to do with their money whatever they please, as long as no one else is harmed. No one is being hurt, but, potentially, the person gambling. Thus I don't think the government needs to be sticking their noses in this.

[Kurt9]

Alcohol and gambling are restricted in the U.S. to a greater extent than most other countries. The East Asian countries (Japan, Taiwan, etc.) have no laws against drinking alcohol in public places and even have vending machines that sell beer. However, gambling is strictly prohibited in these countries. Restrictions on gambling in East Asia is due exclusively to the propensity that East Asians have for excessive gambling (i.e. gambling is banned because of the social problems that result from it).

What is the purpose of restricting gambling in the U.S.? Is it because of the social problems that result from excessive gambling? Has there been any definitive economic study that quantifies how much worse this problem would be if gambling was completely deregulated in the U.S.

The Economist had such an article on legalization of drugs. In it, they were quite up front honest in saying that if drugs were legalized, that the number of addicts would increase by a factor of 5. Has anyone done a similar study for deregulation of gambling?

If not, then I can only conclude that gambling is regulated/banned in this country for political reasons and not objective reasons.

[trumwill]

Kurt, do you have a cite on that study?

[Kurt9]

The economist "survey" about the legalization of drugs was in August of 2001. I do not remember which week.

"his paycheck (cashed at a ripoff check cashing place)"

Speaking as someone who's been cheap since birth, that seems like a very odd behaviour. If people actually do that, it sounds absurd that they should be so horribly daft that they don't realize it's a bad idea. Couldn't it be a matter of not finding a better place to cash the check?

[Peter]

Y'know, maybe if online poker were legal again people wouldn't be obsessed with watching it on TV all the time, and the Eternally Showing Poker Network would actually start showing real sports again.