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Maybe you’re an American online poker player, maybe you made your money playing against Yankee fish, maybe you just enjoy following arcane topics – chances are you’ve been eagerly gobbling up all the news you can get about a number of bills pending in the U.S. Congress to legalize and regulate online poker. You know, then, that it’s frustratingly difficult to figure out exactly what’s going on, much less to construct any kind of timeline for when Americans will be able to get back to the virtual felt.
All of the information conflicts. Mainstream news sources barely report on poker unless there’s some sensational aspect they can overblow. (“The US Attorney says an online poker room is a Ponzi scheme? Bump it to the top of the page!”) Your average poker news source, meanwhile, consistently peddles a narrative implying that legalization and regulation are literally right around the corner. (“The Congressman mentioned poker once in a 20-minute speech. How is ‘Momentum builds for Barton poker bill’ for a headline?”) On top of all that, there are the four hours of hearings that have been held so far by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Not only have they barely scratched the surface when it comes to identifying the issues of importance in creating a brand-new regulation regime for a multibillion-dollar industry, they have spent part of that time focused on a number of issues that are ancillary at best (bots and the potential of implementing skill-based rating systems) and raise major privacy issues at worst (FairPlay USA’s proposal to implement biometric identification schemes).
So, given all of that, what exactly are the prospects of Americans playing an explicitly legalized and fully regulated form of online poker in 2012? They’re really pretty poor. I know, I’m probably raining on your parade, but I’ve consulted all the best sources and every one of them tells me the same thing. My Magic 8-Ball told me “Outlook not so good.” My tea leaves were clustered together in one small part of my cup, indicating the wealth isn’t ready to be shared quite yet. And the liver from the sheep I slaughtered* didn’t produce any definite signs that the gods were sufficiently pleased and ready to allow Americans back to the online poker tables.
Entire Article @ CalvinAyre.com
All of the information conflicts. Mainstream news sources barely report on poker unless there’s some sensational aspect they can overblow. (“The US Attorney says an online poker room is a Ponzi scheme? Bump it to the top of the page!”) Your average poker news source, meanwhile, consistently peddles a narrative implying that legalization and regulation are literally right around the corner. (“The Congressman mentioned poker once in a 20-minute speech. How is ‘Momentum builds for Barton poker bill’ for a headline?”) On top of all that, there are the four hours of hearings that have been held so far by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Not only have they barely scratched the surface when it comes to identifying the issues of importance in creating a brand-new regulation regime for a multibillion-dollar industry, they have spent part of that time focused on a number of issues that are ancillary at best (bots and the potential of implementing skill-based rating systems) and raise major privacy issues at worst (FairPlay USA’s proposal to implement biometric identification schemes).
So, given all of that, what exactly are the prospects of Americans playing an explicitly legalized and fully regulated form of online poker in 2012? They’re really pretty poor. I know, I’m probably raining on your parade, but I’ve consulted all the best sources and every one of them tells me the same thing. My Magic 8-Ball told me “Outlook not so good.” My tea leaves were clustered together in one small part of my cup, indicating the wealth isn’t ready to be shared quite yet. And the liver from the sheep I slaughtered* didn’t produce any definite signs that the gods were sufficiently pleased and ready to allow Americans back to the online poker tables.
Entire Article @ CalvinAyre.com
