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Copyright © 2007 Eye On Gambling
HEADLINE: Gambling and the Law: Is It Safe
To Play
Poker Online
Body:
Most online poker
players were merely annoyed when the failed politician, Bill Frist,
used his position as Senate Majority Leader last year to ram his
Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act through the Republican-controlled
Congress. Sites run by publicly traded companies, including the
largest, PartyPoker, stopped accepting players from the U.S. But
privately owned Internet
poker rooms found their businesses doubling.
Similarly, when, first PayPal and then FirePay, announced they
would no longer send or receive funds from gaming sites, players
poured even more money into the leading e-wallet, Neteller.
Then, the founders of Neteller were arrested, and the company,
without warning, dropped the American gaming market. Neteller
compounded the crisis by freezing all American accounts.
Online poker players
have had to turn to other means to load funds on websites. But
most banks decided years ago not to allow their credit cards to
be used for 7995 transactions, the merchant code for online gaming.
The Department of Justice also sent subpoenas to the investment
banks, accountants, and even law firms, responsible for taking
Internet gaming companies public on the London exchange.
Business for many Internet
poker sites has dropped by 25% or more. Players are not only
finding it difficult to get funds transferred. They are scared.
I receive e-mails every day from player who want to know if they
are going to be arrested because they have played poker
online. Some have asked for and received checks from poker
operators, and are now afraid to cash the checks.
So, to answer these concerns:
1) You are not going to go to jail for merely playing poker
online. It is not a federal crime to make a bet. Half the
states do have ancient laws on the books making it a crime, sometimes,
to make a bet. But these are never enforced. I have been unable
to find anyone who has been charged, let alone convicted, for
playing Internet poker.
2) It is safe to cash or deposit checks from online
poker operators. Be aware that Americans are supposed to report
and pay taxes on virtually all income from any source. The only
crime the federal government really cares about when it comes
to gamblers is tax evasion.
3) Your money can get tied up if a gaming operator or e-wallet
decides to stop dealing with Americans. It has been more than
six months since the CEO of BetOnSports was arrested changing
planes in Dallas, and the money in its American former patrons'
accounts is still tied up. Players will probably get 100% of their
money back. Eventually. Without interest. So, do not keep too
much money in any one place.
4) Be careful about new sites. Unscrupulous operators can jump
in to fill the vacuum. The danger is greater with e-wallets than
with gaming operators. Today, a crooked poker site would be slammed
by players all over the blogosphere. But a crooked bank could
act legitimately, until its operators disappeared with all the
funds.
5) Although there is virtually no chance of getting arrested,
you can get into trouble by playing
poker on the Internet, when you use someone else's computer.
The company you work for owns the office computers, and can legally
spy on what you are doing. While it is not a crime under federal
law to make a bet, it is grounds for dismissal if you are a federal
employee gambling on federal property. Similarly, some colleges
don't want gambling to take place in their dorms on their central
computer systems.
Remember, even though there is money involved, it's not worth
losing your job for or getting kicked out of school - it's only
a game.
© Copyright 2007. Professor I Nelson Rose is recognized
as one of the world's leading experts on gambling law. His latest
books, GAMING LAW: CASES AND MATERIALS and INTERNET GAMING LAW,
are available through his website, www.GAMBLINGANDTHELAW.com.
Hollywood
Poker Bonus Code
Related: See Safe
U.S. Poker Rooms
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