Why Ban Online Poker?

George Bush and his neo-con Mafia have done a lot to hurt America in the last eight years. From putting the country $9 trillion in debt to the United States’ resident money printing cartel, through to destroying the Constitution, Bush has worked hard to earn his reputation as the worst leader in the history of the country.

However, it is probably the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act and its effect on the game of poker that has hit the average American where it hurts most. Poker is an important part of American culture and history, and the country boasts not only the biggest poker tournaments, but also serves as the residence for the world’s richest and most talented poker players.

While some forms of gambling were not severely impacted by the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act, online poker took a full blooded blow to the solar plexus when all forms of internet gambling were made illegal for United States citizens. While the popularity of internet poker soars across the globe, Americans are left to twiddle their thumbs and watch re-runs of the World Series of Poker.

Although some Americans have attempted to bypass the act by procuring foreign credit cards or joining underground poker rooms, the consequences for contravening this act are severe, with those caught in the act facing stiff fines and prison sentences. Furthermore, anyone who runs an internet poker room, even if registered in a foreign country, is subject to arrest on arrival in the United States.

Some blame the ban on poker on lobbying by the Christian fundamentalists on the far right of the American political spectrum, who lobbied for the passing of the act as a first step towards a gambling free society.

However, the persistence of forms of gambling that benefit or serve the interests of the American elite, demonstrates that the fundamental motives for banning online poker may be rather more sinister.

The banning of online poker appears to be inextricably intertwined with the unfolding of a blanket surveillance system across the United States. While not all Americans play online poker, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act effectively delegated increased powers to law enforcement agencies, permitting them to track and monitor credit card transaction of all US citizens.

The ban on internet gambling also reeks of the type of racketeering facilitated by another senseless ban implemented in the 1930s for manifestly similar reasons – prohibition. In the name of freeing Americans from the sinful effects of alcohol, the prohibition era allowed corporations such as Seagrams to consolidate control of the liquor industry as minor competitors were destroyed by the Volstead Act.

It would be no stretch of the imagination if the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act were also designed to weaken offshore gambling operations and minor companies, while allowing power and resources to accumulate amongst interests who derive significant benefits from a resumption of internet gambling once the Act is repealed.

Some poker-loving Americans are now threatening to swing the presidential vote to whichever candidate agrees to repeal the act with immediate effect. However it appears as if no respite is in sight, with Barack Obama (an accomplished poker player in his own right) voting in favour of policing of internet gambling in 2007. Web gamblers betting on Barack Obama are convinced that if he wins the tide will turn in their favour.

John McCain is unlikely to alienate his backers amongst the Christian right by encouraging congress to vote against the act, while Hillary Clinton is in favour of less draconian measures, but ultimately claims to identify with the Orwellian principles that spawned the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act.

Could it be that poker will be the tipping point in sparking the next American revolution?