tagged w/ seize
-
The feds just played a big trump card in their war against online gambling -- freezing more than $30 million in poker players' kitties.
John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance, called the move involving 20,000 players' accounts "unprecedented."
The Justice Department's stunning tactic is the latest in its ongoing battle against Internet gambling, which was banned in the United States in 2006.
Why was online gambling banned in the States? Admittedly, some people fall prey to major gambling addiction online, but surely those temptations could be satisfied elsewhere if they were motivated to do so? As the article states, it only forces online gamblers underground, resulting in money-laundering and major losses in taxation for the government.
I have a few friends who like to gamble, online and elsewhere. If their online poker accounts were shut down, I’m convinced they would continue to bet. We conduct half our lives online; there’s no reason why gambling should be any different.
What are your thoughts on online gambling? Hasn’t money become a part of WOW and Second Life, should they be banned too? Is this an infringement on citizen’s liberties, or is it the government knowing best? (Incidentally, online betting was banned under Bush, is it time to chage it?)The feds just played a big trump card in their war against online gambling -- freezing... more
-
