GAMBLERS! That's right, the gamblers. The MILLIONS of poker players who play on-line 24/7 from all over the world. There are millions wagered everyday on-line in poker games ranging from blackjack to Texas-Holdem to open-face Chinese, yet, the US refuses to allow gaming sites that offer poker. It's nuts. NJ, one of very few states that have tapped into the on-line poker market, surpassed the 1/2 billion revenue mark and has paid over 80 mil in taxes. That's one State! And, you have to have sort of residency in NJ to play on the sites, so access is very limited, Yet, they're doing pretty damn well and the state is collecting a nice share of the on-line sites success's. So, what's the real down side of allowing on-line poker nationally? Are there bad actors running some on-line sites? Yes, there are. However, those sites don't generally last long & the only reason they get away with what they do is because they're not properly regulated. Brick & mortar casinos, while not all peaches & cream, have fairly strict oversight & go to great lengths to comply with state regulators & avoid attracting their attention. So, it would seem the States and/or the Federal government should be able to regulate & oversee on-line gaming in much the same way, wouldn't it? Anyway, from a revenue standpoint (we're talking BILLIONS!), allowing on-line gaming is a no brainer. But, as usual, the special interest groups (especially the native American tribes) who monopolize the brick & mortar's & own the political players, get all pissy at the idea of (OMG) competition, but it's high time to get past that & tap the on-line market.
I agree with you. I used to play poker tournaments online, then they took it away. Now you have to havean offshore account and a pre-paid credit card. Legalize this instead of pot.
