Online Poker Should Be Regulated
Thursday, December 11, 2008 - APmedia
Have you noticed one of the most popular advertisers these days on network TV is Etrade.com? That’s right,..soo easy a baby can do it..or that’s what they seem to imply. Does anyone see the irony in this? Essentially the worlds largest casino..the stockmarket, clearly legal and heavily supported by America’s government bailing out some of the biggest plummeting stocks/businesses..and yet with the market down almost 50% from where it was this time last year…where is the government protecting American consumers against these massive losses? Forget going through a major financial institution and professional stock broker….just go to Etrade.com and roll the dice.
Yet Poker… a game that has been proven to have a strong element of skill as equal to or more then the skill of speculating about future stock prices..get’s ridiculed time after time. If we are not funding terrorism we are money laundering, evading taxes or now harboring player to player theft. Doesn’t Etrade and other online retail businesses have the same issues with age verification, fraudulent or stolen credit cards? These are the two primary arguments for our government against legalizing online poker.
Well those and the fact of problem gambling. I don’t know…I think problem day trading is just as probable. And, I think we all know some problem shoppers..especially with the amazons, overstock and ebay’s of the world..is shopping not as much or more of an addiction as poker? Poker..come on. The most common games are still micro limits…25/50cent with average pots of $1.35. Let’s not let the government hide behind those weak arguments. Let’s face it..under age kids can buy cigarettes and alcohol all they want because the government receives those lovely taxes. Why is poker illegal? Well once the government gets their head around regulating it and sees exactly who much money they are leaving on the table by not taxing it…they wont’ care how many people play and what they play. So we’ll just have to be patient with their slow learning curve in regards to the futuristic and mind boggling world of the internet our government can’t seem to get their head around. A little embarrassing as our friends across the pond have embraced all of online gambling (not just poker) and have enjoyed the millions of dollars brought in via taxation along with the job/biz creation for all industry players.
Maybe if the state of Minnesota had taxed poker sites..they could have funded their state bridge project and done something prior to it’s collapse. With costs of health care, poor education, unemployment coupled with cut or underfunded state programs wouldn’t it be nice if your state lessened your tax burden by simply taxing poker operators on the money earned from gambling in your state..you know..like they already do with all land based casinos, tracks and lotteries? Just think what your state could improve for it’s residents?
As an operator I want to see regulation. Most of us are from the states and grew up playing poker from our dining room tables, especially around the holidays. My parents taught me poker as a matter of fact. Let’s allow our country to flourish and reap the benefits taxation can afford to all of us.
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Tags: Corporate, Executive, Online Poker
