I can't decide if it is good if this bill goes through

Telling banks not to let you gamble is meaningless to anyone who wants to gamble. Sure you might have to jump through a hoop, but offshore wagering will not go away.

The negative of a bill passing that blocks banks but does not criminalize gambling is that it might be an avenue for the anti gambling people to work towards another criminizing bill.

The positives are many:

Online gambling will remain legal for bettors

I don't think it is real likely that another bill will go through. Senators are getting sick of these. Frist is leaving the senate, etc.

ONce this bill fails drastically the call for regulating, legalizing, and taxing will hold more weight.

This bill is gonna really piss off the WTO.

I have not made up my mind yet, but Frist getting through a bs banking only bill may well have more positives than negatives.

-Sean

WTO is a joke. It has no teeth. It's like the UN telling the US not to invade Iraq.

Politically, things happen in waves, and right now there is a moral wave. This is similar to the 1920s when prohibition hit. The Republican Right Wing whackjobs have the country by the balls right now.

If this bill passes, as someone here said, it's a slippery slope. It would be nothing for the US lawmakers to later upgrade to a bill that criminalizes the player.

So Frist leaves. There are plenty of other whackjobs that will be in office to push for stronger measures against gambling.

As far as regulation and legalization, that would be 10 years off. There is very little support for that right now. Anyone proposing that is seen as the nutjob.

You will not see legalization of offshore wagering before 2015, IMO if this anti-gambling stuff starts to pass.

Can't say it will be a happy day if this stuff passes, no matter how toothless it is.

WTO is a joke. It has no teeth. It's like the UN telling the US not to invade Iraq.

They have no teeth unless they give Antigua the right not to recognize copyrights.

If Windows, every CD, and every DVD is selling out of Antigua for $2, it will have teeth. The question is does the WTO have the balls to do this?

Sean

you raise a good point

MrCleo
Like the avatar...this should be a better season for the Houston Rockets....I am really excited about the coming year.

any bill that makes online gambling harder would be terrible for poker players. we need all the recreational american gamblers. we rely on the mistakes of our opponents to a greater degree than sports bettors do.

but if you think money doesn't trickle from one online gambling area (poker sites) to others (sportsbooks) you are crazy. it will slow everything down and hurt everyone. hell, i don't think mansion would've ever done that free steelers bet if they didn't know so many people could get money in and out so easily via neteller, or if they didn't have a new poker site to promote.

:smoking:

If this becomes law, the US offshore players that will drop out will mainly consist of squares and non-hardcore players.

That means a higher % of sharks will be playing of the entire pool of players.

Which means it will be harder to win.