Attn: Internet gamblers (poker and sports)

Billy Hill is no longer accepting US business.

And bank c/c's have been largely problematic in terms of use for offshore funding for
a coupla years, so little new, there.

 

The credit cards would love your business. Of course, when someone like Spitzer tells Visa and MC that they can't do business in New York if they facilitate deposits to offshore gambling sites from NYS residents, they (understandably) get in line rather quickly.

 

How are people gambling with the sites, then?

Sending cash in the mail?

 

Western Union continues to work, with most . .

 

I understand this but it's not like online gambling is a new thing. Is this a political issue down there now? Is the US gaming industry looking to get into online gambling? Just curious....

Here in Canada there are plenty of online gamblers and poker players but the government doesn't seem as concerned. There is/was a huge online bookie operation operating from an Indian reservation in Quebec and Pro Line, a larcenous, government-run sports lottery (based largely on parleys) is very popular.

 

No . . . Bill Frist and his cohorts have been looking to slide this thing home for years, in
order to pander to their wingnut base, invoking "save the children" and other
parallel nonsense, while continuing to condone state lotteries (popularly known as
a punitive tax on the stupid), etc.

 

Actually, some in Vegas are coming around to the point of supporting legalizing Internet gambling so they can get in on the action. Currently, casino owners cannot operate offshore Internet betting because of the heat that will come down on them, while off-shores with no brick-and-mortar operations in the states can operate with impunity.

Pandering to religious fundamentalism is at the heart of this issue. It makes much more sense to bring Internet gambling under the umbrella of government regulation (for revenue and oversight purposes) than to turn a blind eye to the issue and let off-shores that the government cannot control continue to operate.

A Brittish online gambling site owner said it brilliantly on 60 Minutes last week:

Is there going to be an Internet 10 years from now? (yes)
Is there going to be gambling 10 years from now? (yes)


Edit: Click and watch Stahl's "Reporter's Notebook" section for support for my statement that Vegas is coming around to the idea of supporting legalized and regulated gambling on the Internet.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/11/17/60minutes/main1052420.shtml

 

Vegas would love it . . . but only if they could dominate it. Vegas shows no signs of being able to compete on a price/convenience basis with
what's already out there, now.

 

FYI, several major poker sites have announced they'll suspend any US-based accounts if/when Bush signs this into law.

 

New Yorker had a piece on why the Feds should legalize online gambling. This follows the previously mentioned 60 Minutes segment.
Right now, some form of gambling is legal in 48 states, only Utah, figures, and Hawaii, ban it.
Got to protect the kids though.

 

Got to kiss James Dobson's ample, speading asscheeks . . . says Dr. F . . .

 

Three letters solves this problem... especially from this province.

A-T-M

Your ATM card (at least mine) will sail right through, whereas your credit card won't.

Plus, it spares you from the usurious interest you're staring at using a CC.