Online Poker Law USA Online Gambling Bill USA
There has been an update on the Online gambling legislation in the USA.
"The National Right for Online Gaming (NROG) confirmed today that Senator Bill Frist's attempt to push through an online gambling ban before Congress breaks for elections has failed and no more action will be taken in the coming days. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a source close to the Senator told NROG that "the efforts, including an attempt to attach to the DoD bill, have failed and he (Frist) will not be moving forward with gambling legislation before elections." According to eog.com
News Flash! 12 July 2006
Just to clear this matter up. At the moment the house or representatives have passed this legisalation but it has not yet been passed by the senate. So this means that the law is basically half way through being passed. Lets wait and see what happens.
Ok Pokernex has been big into the legal issues around poker on the internet for a while now. A very big piece of legislation has just been passed in the USA. This basically bans online poker sites in the USA. They are making it illegal to play online poker from your home if you live in the United States.
Americans bet an estimated $6 billion per year online, accounting for half the worldwide market, according to analysis by the Congressional Research Service. I wonder where that leaves Partypoker.com and other listed stock market companies.
Poker Legislation Forbid Use of Electronic Payments
The new legislation would update the 1961 Wire Act, which bars gambling entities from using wire-based communications for transmitting bets, to include the Internet. The other aims at cutting off the money flow from players to Internet gambling sites by barring the use of electronic payments, such as credit-card transactions.
Online Poker Websites
From pokernex's point of view are we doing anything illegal by having a website that talks about poker. Online poker discussion shouldn't be illegal right. Now I'm not sure where a poker information website falls really they could go over the top and make anything to do with online poker illegal. Pokernex doesn't promote any online poker websites directly but it could be that affiliate poker websites could fall into a trap eventually around this.
Frankly most people are of the opinion and pokernex is of the same opinion that online poker legislation is almost impossible to enforce. Poker is not illegal as such all over the states, not like murder or stealling which are universal crimes. No poker is a game of fun and occassionally played for money. How far with the legislation go really. One has to wonder how this new legislation will be enforced in the US.
Many feel this is a law that was intended to win conservative voters. A bit like the same peice of legislation that intended to ban alcahol (prohabition act) back in the early 1900's. It's just not going to work, trying to ban an activity such as this. It's far better to spend the extra time and effort fighting child porn, or other real crimes.
Gambling in the privacy of your own home shouldn't be a crime and in time this act will be amended and forgotten in the same way that the prohabition act was discarded. Enjoy playing poker online while you still have a chance.
An opion on the Poker Laws in the USA by Barry Greenstein:
