Despite a federal law banning financial institutions from conducting transactions for online gambling sites, US players continue to gamble online.
This isn’t big news, it isn’t even slightly surprising that US players are still gambling online. After all, it’s not exactly illegal for the player to do so. The UIGEA federal gambling laws target the middleman and not the player, for now anyways.
It’s hard for anyone to feel guilty about it either. It’s not like they are harming anyone, like the woman in this article, she just wakes up and jumps online and plays a few hands of poker. Other than the fact she should shower first, she’s not hurting anyone nor does she feel the least bit guilty for enjoying her online entertainment. And why should she? It’s her money. Read more.
No doubt many Americans are like this woman. Not completely sure of what the laws are and not exactly worried about it either. But the question must be asked, at what point does the US government take the next step, at what point can they target players?
Because let’s face it, if players start getting targeted as they are in Washington State, then all hell could break lose. It boggles my mind to picture my grandma being hauled off in handcuffs and a squad car for playing a few hands on Pokerstars.
Can you imagine being hauled off to jail with real criminals, murderers and rapists for gambling online? Imagine some 300 pound tatted up criminal asking you, “what are you in for”? What would you say? Uh, I’m in here because I won on the river card? Either way you look at it, it just doesn’t sound right.
I hope it never comes to that across the US, but you have wonder how long US players will be able to continue playing online, because, if nothing happens, what was the purpose of the federal law again? How has it changed anything? I guess none of these things make sense mostly because the law itself doesn’t make a whole lot of sense and nor will it ever, until someone can justify why it’s okay to tell another human being how and what they can spend their money on.
It’s been talked about to death, but the fact remains, it doesn’t appear that any legislative framework apart from legalizing and regulating, is going to stop people form gambling online. Until we get there, it’s almost like prohibition all over again. And we all know how that ended.
