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Poker fans rejoice! House Financial Services Committee Chairman, Barney Frank, introduced a bill on Thursday that would allow Americans to gamble online once again. The bill would allow online gambling companies to apply for licenses to accept bets from U.S. citizens. Frank referred to the ban on gambling as "an inappropriate interference on the personal freedom of Americans" and called internet gambling a victimless crime. The WTO has previously declared the U.S. ban illegal.
Congratulations to Mr. Frank for standing up on this issue. I will give a piece of pie to anyone who can make a compelling case as to why it isn't hypocritical for states to offer lotteries while simultaneously cracking down on people who play online poker. How can you muster up moral outrage when you're selling the same product? This is like Hostess accusing McDonald's of marketing unhealthy foods.
If you're a political junkie closely following this issue and counting probable votes, here are a couple stocks that could be affected:
Cryptologic (NASDAQ: CRYP) - This company provides the software platforms for numerous online gambling ventures. The stock took a beating when Americans were banned from internet gambling, but has since recovered and is close to its 52-week high.
World Poker Tour Enterprises (NASDAQ: WPTE) - This company produces the World Poker Tour Series on the Travel Channel (soon to be moving to the Game Show Network) and also operates an online gambling site. While the company hasn't targeted U.S. consumers in the past, that could possibly change.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-27-2007 @ 3:52PM
Tom said...
Online gambling, Online trading. What's the difference?
4-27-2007 @ 3:39PM
anasazigypsy2 said...
I'm playing online free poker as i read this-on the AOL site trying to win my way into the WSOP. Real money? Can't afford it right now, and too many questions on whether you will get your winnings, but everyone should have the right to choose if they want to take the risks or not.
4-27-2007 @ 3:50PM
anasazigypsy2 said...
playing in the qualifier for the WSOP seat on AOL games-free roll.Play for money? Let people choose-we let people of a certain age drink and smoke and those are unhealthy/immoral depending on your views.
4-27-2007 @ 4:21PM
Notorious Nuno said...
Hello All,
Poker sites have already learned how to bypass the law Bushitler had passed to prevent online gambling. The new method adopted by gambling sites is to allow Americans to deposit funds into their Poker accounts using their credit cards. Credit cards, however, are tied to actual accounts with your name, and personal info, and is never safe from the prying eyes of Big Brother. For those of you who are smart, I would suggest buying pre-paid Visas at your local Walgreens, or wherever they're sold. I've done it a few times, and it works wonders. If you need to withdraw money from your account, there are also quite a few methods available so that Uncle Sam can't extort any more money from you. Peace...
5-25-2007 @ 4:04PM
Mark Herpel said...
Well, nice article but it is now, 5/25/07 and BetonSports is pleading guilty to RICO and furthering the gov case against the founders. Unfortunately, its not likely Rep. Frank's bill will do anything. So back to our writing, one will say smiling the glass is half full, another like my post here will say its half empty, but at the end of the day the gov has locked US players out. Its a shame.
Mark H.
DigitalMoneyWorld.com