Legal Online Poker, or Wishful Conspiracy Theory? YMTC |
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Legal Online Poker, or Wishful Conspiracy Theory? YMTC
I don't know if you guys ever listen to The Circuit, but I heard something on that show that makes a lot of sense. The Circuit is basically a satellite radio show from CardPlayer that broadcasts from all of the major tournaments, and follows not only the big players, but also the industry itself.
They were talking about the new anti-poker legislation, and also about the recent arrests of the NETELLER execs. Clearly the government's goal is to "clear out" all activity by the current online poker sites in the US. They are even going after those that are run offshore that do business with US customers. This is much more than a typical political measure, like the vote to "secure our borders;" this is an actual plan to scare the hell out of people. They are delivering a message. "You can run your offshore site, but not with US money."
And why would the government put so much effort into this? Well, what are we detractors saying that they should do instead of banning online poker? "They should make it legal, tax the shit out of it, and make some money off of it." And that's exactly what they are planning to do.
It turns out that some of the biggest contributors to Jim Leech's and Bill Frist's campaigns have been US gaming corporations. And the whole Jack Abrahamoff scandal exposed a link between gambling interests and the Republican Party. These guys are not just in it because they like rich white guys running the country. They are trying to make some money delivering gambling to people, and they see that a great way to do that is by creating online casinos, sportsbooks, and poker rooms.
The guy on the Circuit, after providing the information above, predicted that there is going to be legalized online poker in the US in a few years, but it will be taxed, regulated, and run by gaming companies who are licensed to do so. And it will be the same US-based companies that run the casinos now, the same ones that contribute to campaigns, and are behind all of the efforts to move the offshore sites out of the country. Once they are gone, you will see some legislation allowing some B&M sites to handle virtual betting through the internet. It may not start with poker -- likely, it will start with sports betting -- but that will be where it will end up, and we'll be back to playing online, thankful to Harrah's and MGM Mirage for letting us play again.
I realize that all of this sounds like a huge conspiracy theory, sent by somebody who is already distrustful of the GOP political machine. But I didn't get this from my own head, nor from some random byline on the Internet. Cardplayer is pretty tapped into the poker community, and it does make a lot of sense. You thoughts? |
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