THE SKY ISNT FALLING FOR ONLINE GAMING

Article carried at WINNER ONLINE (WOL)
by Karl Yu, Winneronline
12 October, 2006

You can relax Chicken Little, contrary to reports, the sky isn’t falling.

When news broke that the United States had made an addendum to the Safe Port Act that would limit online gambling, no doubt, poker players considered running to the hills. It would only be a matter of time before playing their hobby online would be deemed illegal and they feared that the Anti-Poker Gestapo would be kicking down their doors. But a closer examination of all that has transpired might have you seeing a little ray of sunshine amidst a sky full of ominous storm clouds.

It might seem like the fat lady has sung, but as Lawrence Walters, an Attorney who specializes in online gaming law, said, “This time, however, her tune was a bit off key.”

Yes Congress attached anti-gambling language to the Safe Port Act; yes it will be harder to play poker online and yes the banks will be asked to monitor transactions, but it isn’t the end of the world as punters know it.

As clear as mud

Walters says the addendum to the Act doesn’t clarify the online gambling situation, in fact it does quite the opposite.

“The version of the legislation that finally passed is an arbitrary, poorly-drafted, vague set of prohibitions that only serve to further complicate the muddled mess that is online gaming regulation in the [U.S.],” said Walters.

THE COMPLETE ARTICLE CAN BE READ AT WINNER ONLINE (WOL)

Author: GamesAndCasino