Congress Cracks Poker...
Friday, September 15, 2006
...and I don't care.
Why's that? Because, ladies and gentlemen, they ain't going to get me. I see a lot of chatter about how the Senate is going to sneak the anti-Internet gambling bill in with some wartime bill, a common occurrence in our corrupt, grab-when-you-can political system. But, frankly, I'm not breaking a sweat. And here is why:
Let's assume that the law does pass. I'm not even going to sweat reading through it. I'm just going to make broad generalization, and you can spit some hate at me about my ignorance if you so choose. But know that I have researched prior anti-Internet gambling law.
Remember Napster? Raise your hand if you used Napster. Ok. Now, raise your hand if you served jail time because of Napster. "But Jordan," you say, "didn't Napster get shut down by the government?" Yes, they did. But Kazaa became the new place to go, as did Morphius and a dozen other entities.
Now, you may be saying that this situation is different. It is, to a slight extent. But in many ways, its VERY similar. The government also shut down BetonSports.com, but what happened next? Mansion offers a $1k free bet as a promotion! There are still dozens on online betting sites in existence. The law won't change that.
Some sites no longer allow players from the US. But so freakin' what? Most of the sites are UK and Europe-based sites. In the UK, they actually have some sites that are licensed by the government. I would not be surprised if those are the same sites that are turning away Americans. But the major US-based sites (and by "based" I mean customer base) are in small island nations. These sites are not fearful of local retribution. In fact, they are probably one of the (if not the) largest source of funds coming into these nations.
Who should be worried? My first guess is James Woods. Then, maybe someone like Dr. Pauly. Perhaps some other bloggers as well. Probably a teenager, and maybe a really old man or woman. Why these people? Because they would make the news. Woods is an actor and is affiliated with an online poker site. Slap the cuffs on him and you're going to make all the rags and most of the legitimate news programs. Someone like Pauly, who gets millions of hits during the WSOP, would make niche headlines, not to mention be the talk of the blogosphere for a while. In fact, all bloggers should be somewhat wary, since we are essentially outting ourselves AND serving as a media outlet. The young kid and the old man are also meant for media attention. During the Napster lawsuits, a 12-year-old girl was sued. Why? Because everyone will see it and say, "damn, they mean business." They also sued an old man who didn't even know that his grandson had downloaded Napster onto his computer. Did they expect to win the case against the fogie? No. They meant to instill fear.
So, I guess some people should be concerned, but we are all gamblers. The chance of you being picked is minor at best. The chance of a major site shutting down is even more minor. You may have problems with some of the smaller sites or UK/European sites, so I would suggest keeping your dough with the major sites. But overall, the legislation is not going to change your world.
Am I ignorant? Maybe. But until they make online poker illegal and raid millions of homes nation-wide, make mine poker!
posted by Jordan @ 4:10 PM,
3 Comments:
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At 6:06 PM,
slb159 said...
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I'll be right there with ya', with my fingers crossed at the table, hoping not to hear a knock*knock.
I do a lot of things that are illegal, like stealing doughnuts from the grocery store and buying booze for minors. So who cares? -
At 9:25 PM,
TripJax said...
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There's always chinese poker...apparently. I still don't get it...so I'll be easy money at the bash.
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At 11:46 AM,
DuggleBogey said...
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By successfully frightenting us into behaving the way they want, the terrorists win! Wait, I mean the government wins.
Wait, what do I mean??
