Don't Play Our Record, You Canadian Bastards

Gambling Haters Don't Know When To Fold 'Em

from the be-sure-to-hit-the-buffet-on-your-way-out dept

Thu, Mar 16th 2006 12:35pm — Carlo Longino

For some time now, some people have been trying to clean up the murky legal situation around online gambling in the US by making it illegal, though their efforts have thus far been fruitless. The latest idea is a little different: instead of attacking gambling, it tries to strangle it by requiring financial institutions to identify and block payments to casinos. This has been tried once before, and it got blocked in a procedural move. It's hard to see it succeeding this time, since it puts a heavy enforcement burden on financial institutions, but also contains the usual amount of loopholes certain US online gambling activities. At least one internet casino isn't worried, either, even though the US provides the Gibraltar-based company with more than half its customers.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

28 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Zeroth404, 16 Mar 2006 @ 12:39pm

I fail to see why Online Gambling should be illegal.

Then again, I'm talking money, and I'm not a republican.

No, I'm not a Democrat, either.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Adam, 16 Mar 2006 @ 12:47pm

Yet again, old people in positions of power...
Telling us what we can and can't do with our own hard earned money.

I'm not a gambler, but I never like to see big brother trying to constrict what we can and can't do.

It's a 12 billion dollar a year+ industry that the government apparently doesn't think they're getting a large enough cut of.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
John Lambert (profile), 16 Mar 2006 @ 12:59pm

Poker = Sport
Outlaw all the gambling except Poker, I don't care. But poker is a sport! That was the rationale by the California Attorney General decades ago that got poker treated differently from other forms of gambling.

As soon as they introduce it in the Summer Olympics, I'm in!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Bill, 16 Mar 2006 @ 1:16pm

What a joke...
Sure, make it illegal for "US" financial institutions to send payment to overseas gambling institutions. I"ll open up my Caribbean (or UK, or Nigerian, or Columbian, you get the picture) credit card account and send XX dollars to it and THEN pay the gambling sites with That account. All they are doing is putting a small 5 foot dam into a 50 foot wide river trying to stop the flow of cash, fat chance. What they will end up doing is encourage US citizens to use International financial institutions instead of US ones. Ya, thats going to help us out a LOT, thanks oh fearless leaders...
Stupid politicians, how in the world did they get elected to office let alone graduate from school?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Rick, 16 Mar 2006 @ 1:23pm

Freedom?

I'm so glad we fight and fought so many wars so we can be free....

Oh wait.

I guess freedom is just a myth now isn't it?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Sam, 16 Mar 2006 @ 1:24pm

Put a huge tariff on money leaving the US.
What they really need to do is put a 75% tariff on money leaving the US. It's not like the US needs anything from over seas. And while we are at it, make it illegal for US schools to teach foreign nationals. It's a crying shame that 75% of all post graduate degrees given in the us last year were to foreign nationals.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
VisiX, 16 Mar 2006 @ 1:26pm

Re: What a joke...
You are addicted to gambling, seek help.

Seriously though, most of what you are saying is probably innacurate. I doubt very much that the majority of online cardplayers would create offshore bank accounts just to facilitate their habit. If it actually becomes difficult to transfer money to poker sites then less people will play poker online, the hassle just isnt worth it.

I played cards online for a while, and then I stopped. I was up only a few hundred dollars at the time and I quit because the fun factor was gone. Obviously, people with addictive personalities will have more trouble getting away, but not allowing fund transfers might cause a lot of them to at least try to go cold turkey.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
TriZz, 16 Mar 2006 @ 1:37pm

Life, Liberty and the persuit of the almighty doll
So - this is what happens when the US makes something illegal and then another country gets all of the money because of it.

Kinda like drugs (narcotics).

Coming soon: The war on Gambling.

Seriously, if they US can't profit on it - they don't want anyone to do it. Honestly, I don't see why the US is so up-in-arms about this. So what if someone plays poker online (real money involved). Why is that the governments problem?

I get the drug issue - drugs make people do stupid shit. Rob other people for drugs, people partake in other criminal activities because they're high - I get that. But someone sitting at their computer, losing their weekly paycheck - hey, at least they're not robbing anyone but themselves.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Smacky Mouse, 16 Mar 2006 @ 1:45pm

Meh
The government. What a collection of whining, sniveling, greedy sons of bitches. No one is allowed to do anything fun unless they can get a chunk of the profits. They hypocritically pretend that the are "protecting" people from the perils of online gambling, while allowing casinos all over the country. Why? Because the casinos pay them money.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Andrew Strasser, 16 Mar 2006 @ 1:50pm

The process of ignorance.
Is innocense.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
RenderingSanity, 16 Mar 2006 @ 1:51pm

Things that are bad for you if you get addicted but aren't outlawed yet...

Casinos
Cigarettes
Beer
Prostitution in NV
The Lotto
Online out of country casinos

Casinos: Taxed
Cigarettes: Taxed
Beer: Taxed
Prostitution in NV(pretty sure their "business" income is taxed)
The Lotto: Income kept by government
Online out of country casinos: Not Taxable

There's why.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Andrew, 16 Mar 2006 @ 2:35pm

freedom
I'm kind of tired of people saying things like, "I thought we were supposed to have freedom in the U.S.," and "It's a free country, right?" with regard to these issues.

Yes, the U.S. allows a great deal of personal freedom. However, the only system of government that allows total individual freedom is... wait, no, that's anarchy.

So quit judging an issue on whether or not it restricts your perceived "right to be free." Judge an issue on whether it unjustly restricts freedom. In this case, though I'm generally not real against gambling, the freedom is to gamble. The problem with this one is that it isn't neccessarily harmful. However, it can be.

And no, you aren't given the right to do whatever you like as long as it could only hurt yourself. Last time I checked, suicide was still illegal.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Heather, 16 Mar 2006 @ 2:39pm

bottom line is
the bottome line is that gambling is a sin, but it is not up to our government to make us stop doing it. in fact many people cannot and will not stop doing it unless God helps them. it is up to each one of us to choose in our lives whether or not we want to disobey God or not. Jesus can heal the pain of ruining families, destroying businesses, etc...but he will not force us. we should obey HIS laws, because they are perfect. Our government is not our God. Jesus is!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
txjump, 16 Mar 2006 @ 2:47pm

Freedom
We are supposed to have freedom....until it infinges on someone elses freedoms. I'm not clear how someone elses gambling infringes on me.

I'm not a gambler but if someone wants to gamble and give their money to a casino (online or otherwise) then who am I to tell them not to?

Also, addicts don't usually just stop cold turkey. If they want something they will find a way around "the system". That's why theft is so popular among drug users. They don't just stop when there is not money. They don't just stop when the supplier disappears.

Prohibition was meant to work the same way and it didn't.

Offshore banks (or underground groups) are likely to figure out a way to make things convenient for the gambler and they will make money.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Bob, 16 Mar 2006 @ 2:54pm

Re: Re: What a joke...
You seem to be saying that we should rely on the government or, worse yet, the US financial institutions to impose restrictions on citizens for their own good.

Maybe while they're busy with determining what's good for me and bad for me, they'll stumble upon the unified theory of addiction. Then they could institute controls, based on their research, that will cure all of us of our varied and admittedly terrible addictions--to substances, activities and maybe even thoughts! Wouldn't that be sweet? We would no longer have to resort to counseling or therapy or even withdrawal symptoms. Their universal, bank-based motivation would allow for the eradication of all unsavory habits nationwide! Of course before that becomes a reality, they'd have to figure out how to deal with the entire State of Nevada (and others) until those territories could be stripped of legalized gambling and solicitation.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Mar 2006 @ 3:00pm

State Lottery != Gambling ???
What ever happened to the STATE LOTTERY???

State Lottery != Gambling ???

CALIFORNIA LOTTERY HERE: http://www.calottery.com/

NEW YORK LOTTERY HERE: http://www.nylottery.org/

Find your state here...
http://www.google.com/search?q=State+Lottery
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Peter Koenig, 16 Mar 2006 @ 3:14pm

Re: Put a huge tariff on money leaving the US.
the reason all the degrees are going to foreign students is because the American ones are too stupid to graduate.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Mar 2006 @ 3:17pm

Japan says, " All your degrees are belong to us! "
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Gary H, 16 Mar 2006 @ 3:43pm

Re: Re: What a joke...
Well you know what will happen..Casino's will make it easy to open accounts overseas through thier own banks or throughout banks they have contracts with...This will make taxing the income very hard as well...think about it, have 10000 sitting in an overseas account...Govt cant tax it..The govt is gonna screw themselves even more.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Joe Snuffy, 16 Mar 2006 @ 3:52pm

Re: freedom
Now what is the point of suicide beign illegal? Are they going to take your corpse to jail? Stupid laws mad e by stupid people.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Tyshaun, 16 Mar 2006 @ 4:01pm

Not getting the true picture!
Only a few of you are getting the point. It's not that the government is trying to outlaw gambling, just the online ones. Someone already bought it up, and it's because overseas online casinos can't be effectively taxed. If the government truly wanted to get rid of gambling then Reno, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, most indian reservations, a lot of mississippi riverboats, almost every state in powerball, and anything associated with OTB would be out of business. "Let the government control liquor and broads, just more money for me" -Al Capone
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Mar 2006 @ 4:50pm

RE: #20

"Now what is the point of suicide beign illegal? Are they going to take your corpse to jail? Stupid laws mad e by stupid people."

You got that wrong. Suicide is 100% legal - it's ATTEMPTED Suicide which is illegal.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Mar 2006 @ 7:29pm

Re: Re: freedom
"Now what is the point of suicide beign illegal? Are they going to take your corpse to jail? Stupid laws mad e by stupid people."

Well actually attempting suicide is illegal. Suicide itself is not a punishable crime---when you think about it. And now that I think about it, it IS a punishable crime, but it's usually the family of the survivors who suffer for it. Not because you're dead, they could probably care less; the penalty comes when the life insurance company denies your claim because most life insurance policies, unless you pay a MUCH higher premium, state that benefits won't be paid out in the event of murder or suicide. This is a deterrent against nasty spouses trying to get a lot of money from offing their beloved. Hence the common murder mystery dialog, "Make it look like an accident."
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Barry Goodknight, 16 Mar 2006 @ 9:20pm

Re: freedom
Shut up idiot.
They wanna outlaw it because they are unable to tax it, no other reason. I'm not even a gambler, I just hate tools like yourself.

Fuck you, the goverment, and taxes.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Barry Goodknight, 16 Mar 2006 @ 9:24pm

Re: bottom line is
Shove that religious bullshit up your ass man, we are trying to talk about real shit here ya fuckin fruitloop
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Tin Ear, 16 Mar 2006 @ 10:16pm

Re: Put a huge tariff on money leaving the US.
Umm, I would have to disagree... What is one product in the world market that we can't seem to get enough of? Let me give you a hint... Lots of sand, a recent war, terrorists and many, many Muslims? We need OIL. If we place that kind of tariff on US cash leaving this country, I can see a gallon of gas costing $15 a pop.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Brian, 17 Mar 2006 @ 7:34am

Just A Thought
Why doesn't the government think about opening their own online gambling site? Then they can have yet another way of taking more money from us! And at least this way the money stays in this country, or at least some politician's pockets.

Isn't that the justification as to why State Lottos are not illegal because they add money to the states budgets, and help schools?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Niall, 13 Jul 2006 @ 7:43am

Re: Put a huge tariff on money leaving the US.
I think the US could do with quite a few things from other countries. I don't just mean physical resources but attitudes and cultures
[ link to this | view in thread ]