President George W. Bush is expected to sign an anti-gaming bill into law today which will outlaw all forms of sports betting as well as online poker in the United States, where gaming sites reportedly make the lion’s share of their profits.
Since starting approximately a decade ago, the online poker business has exploded, fueled by the card game’s surging popularity on college campuses and televised tournaments. According to GamingPublic.com, online gaming — 13 percent of which comes from poker — had been projected to earn companies $16 billion in revenues this year, making it one of the most lucrative industries in the world.
While the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act will not prohibit people from playing online poker, it will target the transactions involved with online poker, making it illegal for banks and wire transfer services to accept gambling-related checks and wires. According to the bill, the 1961 Wire Act, which forbids betting over telephone wire, including Internet communications would also be amended .
The original anti-gambling bill was proposed by Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and included a much broader definition of online gambling, according to Goodlatte’s website.
Goodlatte spokeswoman Alise Kowalski said in an email the current provisions are “a step in the right direction,” and Goodlatte plans to further amend the Wire Act to forbid all gambling, not just sports betting.
Online gambling puts gambling addicts and minors at increased risk, she said, adding the costs “must ultimately be borne by society.”
Card Player Media spokesman Michael Friedman said websites that only feature poker — as opposed to games of chance such as craps and blackjack — will argue that the bill excludes poker because it is a game of skill.
An Oct. 6 article on Card Player Media’s website contended the new law only enforces existing state and federal laws, suggesting users may still be able to play poker online. The site announced Wednesday that a half dozen online poker sites would continue accepting bets from U.S. customers despite the bill.
Other websites are pulling out of the United States altogether to focus their attention on Europe, Friedman said. PartyPoker.com, which received a reported 75 percent of its revenue from the United States, said it will pullout as soon as Bush signs the bill into law.
Friedman added the bill “places responsibility on the banks to police themselves,” forcing banks and wire transfer services to decline checks and wires for fear of prosecution. These banks would also be unable to collect their payments from overseas, he added.
According to the Card Players website, the online payment system FirePay announced it would stop accepting transactions from the United States, pending Bush’s approval of the bill.
Friedman predicted gaming interests would lobby hard against the law.
As for the future of online gambling in general, Friedman pointed to Prohibition as proof that when a vice is popular in America, saying “it’s almost impossible to stop.”
A former online gambler asked The Daily Free Press to withhold his name because he deems the material a personal matter that also deals with his family.
He admitted he spent too much time and money playing online poker, recounting hours spent “glued to the computer screen.” His brother played even heavier, once stealing money from his brother’s credit card to pay his debts, he said.
“It can be a sort of downward spiral,” he said. “It took like 400 to 500 bucks for me to say I’m not going to win it back, after seeing my brother.”
While he said some players can play for fun, those who play to win risk addiction.
He added he often played on a website that used phone cards as currency to protect players’ real transactions.
College of Communication freshman Justin Suriano said he quit playing online poker after losing about $50 in three weeks.
“I’d always be up and then I’d go down more than I’d be up,” he said. “I was losing money pretty fast.”
To those still placing their money online, he offered one piece of advice: “Be careful.”
College of Arts and Sciences senior Jonathan Korn, who said he won nearly $1,000 playing online poker, also starting after his brothers began. He called the proposed law “absurd.”
After receiving an email from FirePay warning him not to place bets from the United States, Korn said the threat of partaking in an illegal activity convinced him to quit for the time being.
“I have stopped playing for now,” he said. “I’m going to wait a few months to see what happens.”
If unable to play poker online legally, Korn said he will probably go to casinos instead.