http://business.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474979229973
April 16, 2011 12:15 AM EDT
Online poker sites have been seized and will be down in about two days. The US government has been battling these sites for several years now, and the final shutdown may be due to a US based online gambling site startup.
Online gambling sites bring in millions of dollars every year, and their popularity has grown despite the government’s efforts to stop them. Recently, the District of Columbia has passed a law modernizing the gambling laws of the state, according to Poker Player Newspaper. This law will allow a local onlinepoker site to be established. Customers within the district can participate in these games.
The District of Columbia is the first to pass this type of law, but many states are working on passing similar laws. These new laws provide reason to believe that the US government may be shutting down offshore online poker sites because they intend on reaping the profits themselves.
Has the US government realized that closing offshore online gambling sites will allow US based sites to thrive? These events may be unrelated, but it appears that the US has banned these offshore online poker sites previously because they have not received any of the profits. Prohibiting US banks from processing payments to offshore gambling sites will allow the US government to capitalize on US based sites.
This is a sneaky way to bring in profits, but the US government could use the funds. If the US government had proposed its own online gambling sites before they tried cracking down on offshore online poker sites, they would already be making a profit. It will be interesting to see how quickly US based gambling sites appear online now that offshore online gambling is being shutdown in the US.
April 16, 2011 12:15 AM EDT
Online poker sites have been seized and will be down in about two days. The US government has been battling these sites for several years now, and the final shutdown may be due to a US based online gambling site startup.
Online gambling sites bring in millions of dollars every year, and their popularity has grown despite the government’s efforts to stop them. Recently, the District of Columbia has passed a law modernizing the gambling laws of the state, according to Poker Player Newspaper. This law will allow a local onlinepoker site to be established. Customers within the district can participate in these games.
The District of Columbia is the first to pass this type of law, but many states are working on passing similar laws. These new laws provide reason to believe that the US government may be shutting down offshore online poker sites because they intend on reaping the profits themselves.
Has the US government realized that closing offshore online gambling sites will allow US based sites to thrive? These events may be unrelated, but it appears that the US has banned these offshore online poker sites previously because they have not received any of the profits. Prohibiting US banks from processing payments to offshore gambling sites will allow the US government to capitalize on US based sites.
This is a sneaky way to bring in profits, but the US government could use the funds. If the US government had proposed its own online gambling sites before they tried cracking down on offshore online poker sites, they would already be making a profit. It will be interesting to see how quickly US based gambling sites appear online now that offshore online gambling is being shutdown in the US.
