LA Times Runs Article for US Internet Poker
Written by Roger S | Sunday, October 25th, 2009
Just to prove that its not only a bunch of nutcases out there who are pushing for a change in online poker legislation, the prestigious Los Angeles Times publication ran an article that called for immediate changes to US gaming laws.
The article was written by none other than Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Hiltzik who, in his own original and sometimes comical way, called the current system “absurd” and said that online gambling is “unstoppable”.
Hiltzik first outlines the absurdity of the gambling laws that allow gambling on riverboats but not on land, that banish casinos to far flung places and allow Indian reservations to run licensed establishments.
He then examines the efforts of Rep. Barney Frank and Senator Robert Menendez to lift the federal ban on online poker and clarify the law.
Hiltzik shows that, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, the legalization of online poker and casino gambling in the United States could yield $34 billion over the next decade, excluding sports betting.
“It’s fair to say that the American approach to Internet gambling, which is legal in much of the rest of the world, is absurd,” writes Hiltzik.
The writer quotes Buffalo State University gambling law expert, Joseph M. Kelly as saying: “Martians might have a difficult time understanding that if you play poker online for money in the state of Washington, you’re committing a class C felony. That’s the same as rape.”
Poker pro, Howard Lederer is also quoted in the article by saying that the current US laws are a “fraud”.
“People who had a moral agenda wrote laws and regulations that were vague,” said Lederer. “And banks, which have the sword of Damocles hanging over their heads and no clarity, are probably going to block poker transactions.”
Hiltzik states his opinion that banks are not happy, to say the least, that they will be faced with the prospect of screening literally billions of financial transactions each year to make sure that they are not related to online poker and gambling. With the law due to kick in with a few weeks, experts are giving the objective of the rules – to combat money laundering – a nil chance of success.
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· Written by Roger S · Filed Under Poker Gossip · Comments Off
