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HEADLINE: Online poker legal soon?
Body:
There appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel for online
poker players in the U.S.
With the United States being threatened by the European
Union over WTO violations and a very strong showing by the Poker
Players Alliance, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act
may soon be history.
During a recent keynote address at Global Gaming
Expo (G2E) former senator Alfonse D'Amato, currently the chairman
of the PPA, said he expects legalization of online
poker in the United States within the next 18 months.
Ironically, the reason the U.S. government seems
to be changing its tune about online poker has less to do with
the millions of U.S. citizens who want to see it legalized than
with the $100 billion suit being filed by the European Union against
the restrictions.
Antigua-Barbuda was the first country to seek action
against the United States' online gambling ban, and was awarded
a surprising win by the World Trade Organization. D'Amato mentioned
the pending sanctions by the WTO could have a huge impact on online
poker's future.
Earlier this week Commissioner of the European Union
for Trade Peter Mandelson said the United States should let foreign
companies into the online gaming market instead of merely trying
to compensate the European firms for shutting them down.
"The U.S. has so far opted for compensation
to make right what is wrong," Mandelson said in a Reuters
story yesterday. "I don't think compensation does that job."
Mandelson is hopeful that the PPA will be successful;
he mentioned that he will continue to make arguments on behalf
of the European industry.
Avoiding trade sanctions wouldn't be the only reason
for reversing the ban on Internet poker, however. The government
would make billions of dollars in taxes if online
poker was properly regulated. New technology has also made
underage gambling easier to prevent.
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