NEWS: Congress Bans Online Gambling

CULTURE: Congress Bans Online Gambling

About three months of Full Tilt Poker too late for me, Congress has passed a bill prohibiting online gambling. The bill, which was approved over the weekend, makes it illegal for credit card companies, banks and all other fund sources to transfer money to internet gambling sites. The act has already caused dramatic drops in stock value for a number of British and Australian gaming companies.

It has long been illegal to run a gambling site in the US, but until now it was still possible to transfer money from a bank account - for example mine - to an offshore site. It was also common to keep depositing cash into these sites until a bank account - for example, mine - turned up empty.

Will this move by the government do more than Gamblers' Anonymous to cure excessive betting habits.... Or will it cause a massive revolt of angry, laptop-wielding, poker junkies on Capitol Hill? Only time will tell.


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Well, to be fair we're a bunch of stupid sheep who need our hands held through any and all decisions. I wish California would tell me whether I prefer Pepsi or Coke or hate them both...I always forget when I'm at restaurants.

Open an offshore account, possibly in the Cayman Islands. That'll learn them congressfolk!

This happened two days after my first deposit of 25 dollars onto Poker Stars, and one day after I lost my first 25 dollars on PokerStars.

All kidding aside (even though what I said is 100% true), I can't believe that in the middle of a war, a week when a congressman had to resign for a major ethical braech, somehow congress finds the time to bad online poker.

Mark my words, it will be back. Once the government figures out how they can get a cut of the profits.

Yeah I'm buying stock in CIBC, Royal Bank, the Toronto Dominion Bank, Scotiabank, and the Bank of Montreal. Gamblers will flock to Canada to set up transfer accounts as the days of prohibition descend upon us once more! Yee Haw!!

Dave Chappelle was right.

Not mentioned in the article was the fact that the ban was not discussed. There was no "ban online gaming" bill up for vote. It was added on to the bottom of the Safe Port Act bill, which had wide bi-partisan support. Sad.

Forbes article

Link to source?

goddamnit

Maybe it'll help cool the popularity of poker so people will stop thinking it's a sport.

Showing it on ESPN? Jesus!

I really think this is a retarded action, ideally I'd really want to see England and Autralia address this from a trade stance, however unlikely.

I don't care aslong as they don't ban it over here.
I haven't used them in ages, but I used to regularly bet on horse racing and football on internet gambling sites.
Won a lot, lost a lot. Not really sure whether I was up or down at the end!

whatever happened to the land of the free? Just sad.

my dad's gonna be pissed.


very strange of congress though. normally they just tax the fuck out of vices and addictions.

There's a group out trying to reclassify poker as a game of skill and not a game of chance. Which I wholeheartedly agree on.

and $25? Come on, that's rookie losses there

It's not when a "random shufle" is involved.

... and I don't really trust in those "random" hands.

I think this action is based more on the fact that the majority, if not all, of the companies are based in the UK or Caribbean etc. Expect a US based company, possibly with ties to someone within Government probably someone involved with this legislation, taking over from the "foreign" companies in the near future.