The Threats to Online Poker

Online Poker has always attracted a mixed response from the authorities. There are those that see this sort of gambling as illegal, dangerous and damaging to society. People like me see it as an entertaining way to possibly make some money and ask why people should be told what they can or cannot do with their own money. The United States government has waged war on Internet Poker for some time, but has increased their efforts lately to restrict participation in it.

The UIGEA Bill makes it illegal to transfer money to sites that offer games of chance. The US government knows that they cannot go into every home and arrest people who are playing online poker. There have been a few showcase arrests to try and deter people from playing but on the whole the Police would do nothing else if they were forced to arrest everyone. Instead, they go to the payment processors knowing that if the poker players cannot get money into the sites, or more importantly, out of the sites then they will not deposit and therefore not play. In one motion they suffocate online poker. It is a worrying thought.

Recently the US government placed seizure orders on Allied Systems Incorporated & Account Services, which was handling cashing out requests for most of the major poker sites. This was a big move towards closing down online poker, or making it very difficult to play. Over 27,000 players were affected with cash outs of a total of $15 million. Players received their cheques, but they bounced as the accounts were frozen. Other banks including Wells Fargo and Citibank also had seizure orders placed upon some of their accounts and it was estimated that a total of $35 million worth of cash outs to players was affected.

Players have responded by trying to push for poker to be recognised as a game of skill rather than chance, which would see them exempt from the games of chance payment processing restrictions. There is an element of chance in the game but certainly there is also an optimal way to play and some of the skill elements of poker involve knowing when to fold, exactly what to bet and different types of moves like the stop and go, squeeze play or semi-bluff that are utilised very effectively by skilled players. There have been some small court rulings in favour of poker as a skill game but currently none that can be used as a major breakthrough for the campaign.

The poker community has come out fighting to protect their beloved internet poker game. The poker player’s alliance was set up to try and pull players together as a collective force to lobby for the legalisation of online poker. They have over 1 million members and are becoming a force to legalise gambling, especially in the USA. Their website is very informative and you can find all the latest news about what the Poker Players Alliance are doing to help online poker. The PPA advocates poker not only as a skill game but for raising money through charity tournaments for causes like the MS society. This is an attempt to move away from the idea that poker is simply a degenerative gambling pursuit and whilst gambling is involved, the PPA want to make the public and government aware that good can come from people participating in it.

In Europe it is certainly getting more difficult to deposit on most online poker sites. My HSBC card used to accept payments all of the time but recently, despite enough money to cover deposits in my account, they have been rejected. This is not the bank but the processors that are the problem. The threat to online poker is that if money cannot be easily deposited and withdrawn it will be very difficult to play. Live poker will benefit, but for the majority of casual players they may leave the player pool and make it extremely difficult for more dedicated players to find profitable games. The standard of poker will increase and many intermediate players may also realise that they can no longer profit. The repercussions of payment processor clampdowns would be far reaching, so we hope that online poker can survive these political attempts to defeat it.

By Malcolm Clarke

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Tags: gambling law, legalise poker, poker article, poker law, ppa, uiega bill