US President, Barack Obama, has seen his web site inundated with requests to “let online poker players in the United States play legally and without fear of prosecution”
The suggestion, which recently appeared on Obama’s change.gov web site, has quickly been voted the second most popular idea and it has been promised that the suggestion will be seen by the President.
Change.gov was set up by Obama’s transition team and is designed to allow American citizens to submit and promote suggestions about what issues the Obama needs to address during his term in office.US President, Barack Obama, has seen his web site inundated with requests to “let... more
The Poker Player's Alliance is reporting that a Pennsylvania judge ruled poker a game of skill in a court hearing on Friday.
The case in question was that of Walter Watkins who ran a small No-Limit Hold'em game out of his garage. No rake was taken according to the PPA but players were encouraged to tip their dealers. One of the dealers, Diane Dent, was also identified in the case as Watkin's girlfriend. The pair was facing 20 charges each.
In the end Judge Thomas A. James Jr. stated simply that if chance was the dominant factor in No-Limit Hold'em then the game should be considered gambling but if the majority of the game is skill then it is not gambling.
James Jr. went on to cite numerous poker strategy resources like Mike Caro's Secrets of Winning Poker, Explaining Winning Poker: A Data Mining Approach and various websites, which seemed to suggest that skill plays a huge part in the popular card game. At one James Jr. even quoted Secrets of Winning Poker saying "…the money flows from the bad players to the good players."
Both Watkins and Dent were cleared of all charges as a result of the ruling.
"It's unfortunate we had to go through all of this," he said to the Associated Press. "We were arrested, taken out of our home, shackled and spent a night in prison. All for playing poker."
Many in the poker industry, including PPA Executive Director John Pappas, see the ruling as a positive step towards legalizing online poker. Although the case was relatively minor it represented one of the first occasions where poker has been decreed a game of skill by the judiciary branch of the U.S. government.The Poker Player's Alliance is reporting that a Pennsylvania judge ruled poker a game... more
The high-stakes poker world buzzed earlier this week when online star Tom "durrrr" Dwan, in conjunction with a feature in the February issue of BLUFF Magazine, announced a challenge to all other poker players. Dwan's open challenge included a minimum of 50,000 online hands to be played simultaneously at four or more tables of no-limit hold'em or pot-limit Omaha, as follows:
"I'm making this heads-up challenge to the world. Anyone can accept. Four tables, minimum of $200/$400, and I'll put up $1.5 million to their $500,000. We play 50,000 hands minimum and if they end up a dollar after rake they keep the side money or whatever. So basically, if you and I played and you won a dollar, you
Mansion Poker.
would get my $1.5 million and if I won a dollar I would win your $500,000.... So I'm giving a million dollars free if anyone thinks they can do it."The high-stakes poker world buzzed earlier this week when online star Tom "durrrr"... more
60 Minutes is the oldest news magazine show in the US and many consider it the most respected name in TV news in the US. This story features the Absolute/UltimateBet scandals.60 Minutes is the oldest news magazine show in the US and many consider it the most... more
I have unfortunate news to report. Despite the efforts of the poker community, the opposition of the banks and the recent news exposing inappropriate influence by the White House, today the current administration finalized the UIGEA regulations to be made effective on January 19th the day before president-elect Obama officially takes office. A copy of the final UIGEA regulations and the PPA’s response can be found on our Web site.I have unfortunate news to report. Despite the efforts of the poker community, the... more
Once again, last minute actions were taken regarding the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). In the waning moments of the 2006 Congressional session, the UIGEA was attached to the SAFE Port Act, an unrelated port security bill, and passed by unanimous consent in the Senate. On Wednesday, the regulations of the UIGEA were finalized as part of so-called midnight rule-making by the Bush Administration and will be implemented on January 19, 2009, one day before Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States.
Banks and other financial institutions have until December 1st, 2009 to comply with the UIGEA rules. However, its regulations still do not spell out what is illegal and legal under the law, instead deferring to existing state and federal statutes. The rules read, “Creating such a list [of what is legal and what is not] would require the Agencies to formally interpret those laws that are written and enforced by other entities… The Agencies believe that appropriate due diligence conducted by participants opening accounts would be the most effective method for preventing unlawful internet gambling businesses from gaining access to the payment system.” You can view the full UIGEA regulations by visiting the website of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA).Once again, last minute actions were taken regarding the Unlawful Internet Gambling... more
Tomorrow, a new president will be elected, and although it seems like the only race that matters, it isn’t. It’s only one tight race — albeit as important as they come — going on in a country full of them. Congressional seats will be won and lost, and pundits predict a shift to the left when everything is all said and done.
In theory, this should be a good thing for the fight to get online poker regulated and taxed in the United States. In reality, this issue is near the bottom of a long list of problems that must be resolved.
But online poker does have a handful of allies who have presented bills that would exempt online poker from the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) or officially declare poker as a skill game. Many of the allies believe that people should be able to do what they want to do with their money in their home, as long as it’s not hurting anyone.Tomorrow, a new president will be elected, and although it seems like the only race... more
The online poker industry may once again be fundamentally changing in the United States.
First came enactment of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act on the national level back in 2006.
Now Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear has taken it upon himself to try to eradicate internet gambling altogether by seizing 141 of the world's largest domain names. The reason: In part to protect the state's horse racing industry and state lottery.
It doesn't seem plausible that a Governor could single-handedly order the forfeiture of domain names belonging to sites like Bodog, Absolute Poker, Ultimate Bet, PokerStars, Cake Poker, Full Tilt Poker, and Doyle's Room. But that is exactly what has happened. If this were to happen outside the United States many would label it as "censorship" and lambaste it.The online poker industry may once again be fundamentally changing in the United... more
With the U.S. presidential election less than a month away, prospective voters are scrutinizing candidates on many issues of concern. Most of these are addressed during debates or on the candidates' Web sites.
One issue important to the poker community, however, has not been addressed by either of the major candidates - the prospects for Internet gambling, specifically online poker.With the U.S. presidential election less than a month away, prospective voters are... more
SMH reports details about online poker cheating scandal case previously covered by MSNBC. Detective work by an Australian online poker player has uncovered a $US10 million cheating scandal at two major poker websites and triggered a $US75 million legal claim.
"In two separate cases, Michael Josem, from Chatswood, analyzed detailed hand history data from Absolute Poker and UltimateBet and uncovered that certain player accounts won money at a rate too fast to be legitimate. His findings led to an internal investigation by the parent company that owns both sites. It found rogue employees had defrauded players over three years via a security hole that allowed the cheats to see other player's secret (or hole) cards."
The alleged subterfuge on UltimateBet.com — one of the 10 top poker sites — is the biggest known case of fraud targeting an Internet gambling site and its customers, according to the company that owns the site. It is similar to a case of cheating that occurred last year on UltimateBet’s sister site, AbsolutePoker.com, but this time the thieves ran the scheme for far longer — at least from January 2005 to January 2008, it said.SMH reports details about online poker cheating scandal case previously covered by... more
Playing online poker for real money is an illegal activity in Germany.
Gamers who ignore the ban could theoretically even face time behind prison bars. Practically speaking, however, the real problem for poker fans is enforcing their winnings from providers who are often far away in other countries, says Michael Terhaag, a lawyer in Germany.
In the event of a problem, the gamers "generally have no legal options for suing to get their money back," the expert in internet law told the Hamburg-based Computer Bild Spiele.
They must also be aware of the fact that it's impossible to rule out cheating when playing poker on the net.
That said, Michael Terhaag "doesn't know of a case" whether a player has been prosecuted for playing illegal online poker.Playing online poker for real money is an illegal activity in Germany.
Gamers who... more
Playing online poker in internet cafes funded Taylor and Ethan's 18 month trip to exotic destinations around the world. Their wins and losses at the virtual tables affected their trip in ways they never could have expected.Playing online poker in internet cafes funded Taylor and Ethan's 18 month trip to... more
