As a online poker player I have been paying attention to the bill that is trying to be passed in the Senate against Internet Gambling. I personally am not for the bill passing for the obvious reason of not being able to do something that I love and have some skill at. But last night I saw 60 minutes was going to do a story on it and watched it (well sort of since I was online playing poker.
So the main argument this time was based on the fact that kids would be able to gamble online. That is a bad thing. Sure, so is drinking, smoking, and taking drugs, but no one seems to be trying as hard to stop kids from doing that these days. The thing they addressed was how a kid could take dad's credit card and jump online and start gambling. Well here are a few things I noticed about that senario. First off, when the kid tried to access poker sites he was not allowed on. That says something right there that the sites are doing their job in keeping people like that kid from accessing their site with a credit card. Secondly, the site the kid did get on looked to be GlodenPalace.com which is a "real" gambling site. By real I mean, not a poker site. Poker is defined these days as not "gambling". I believe, and correct me if I am wrong, but in states that do not allow games of chance, many actually have poker rooms that are legal because poker is recognized as a skill game, not a chance game. My point is that go after the right people. Go after the sites that offer slots, craps, and roulette, but leave the poker sites out of it. Now, some sites do offer both. Make the site pull the blackjack and crap off but leave the poker aspect in. I'm fine with that.
But one of my problems with this bill is the other reason and that is that internet gambling is used by terrorists to launder money. Oh give me a break. You keep saying it but not once have I seen one shred of evidence presented that supports that series. Maybe that guy I saw on Pokerstars last night with the handle OSBL4885 was Osama trying to win some money to fund another attack.
I understand we need to keep the kiddies safe. But this is ridiculous. Where is the parent in this equation? Why does the government feel the need to become the parent? The kid steals dad's credit card and then loses $500 on the slots. The kid should get in trouble for that by his parents. You may as well ban OnDemand on digital cable cause what stops a kid from going on there and buying porn every night. The parents will find out, just like they did with the gambling.
Stay away from the poker. It's just that simple. Feel free to block credit card access on those sites, I don't use a credit card so no skin off my back. Hell, do what Norway (or Finland or Sweden) did and start your own poker and gambling site. Get in on the action. Just leave us alone.
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