7:14 pm ET
Dec 8, 2010

Budget Battle

Reid ‘Still Working On’ Online Poker Bill

    • We suppose online poker is less harmful than the online lottery Ben Bernanke and Congress are sponsoring with their failing fiat money.

    • Hey,
      We all know when you get in bed with the unions... particularly in Nevada... you will have to give them what they paid for, it's a matter of principle.

      For a man with no principles, Harry needs to be commended for holding up his part of the bargain. Good Job Harry!

    • It´s a little sad that in the ´land of the free´ a bill to gain the freedom to do with my money what I want and play a game that I like has to piggyback on a must-pass bill because otherwise the religious right will impose it´s own standard of moralitty on me.

    • We allow workers, investors, retirees and traders to do what they want when it comes to their money with respect to the stock, bond, futures', etc., markets. Likewise this country allows people to do what as they like with respect to online poker. Only one state (WA state) has made it illegal for players to play online poker.

      Reid's bill is simple and effective. A very sizable portion of Americans (in the billions of dollars each year) play online poker but at offshore sites--that is, since as of today no American company offers online poker inside the US--as a result this deprives the US and state governments of tax revenue it would have otherwise obtained had Americans done their online poker playing inside the US and with US companies. Reid's bill established a regulatory and taxing framework to reverse this scenario.

      Under Reid's bill American companies will finally be able to participate in the online poker market, and it will also finally allow the federal and individual state governments to capture the tax revenues for which they are entitled to but currently are not under the status quo.

    • Comparing online poker to investment? What lengths you people will go to...

      So let me see if I have this straight. If I want to eat saturated fat at a restaurant, ride a bike without a helmet, mention God in a public place, or buy an incandescent light bulb, these people are trying to tell me I can't legally do so. But any effort to restrict marijuana purchase or gambling accessible to minors is a horrible offense against freedom?

    • Americans already send billions offshore each year to places like Costa Rica, Curacao and the Isle of Man for an online entertaining experience they cannot get from any American company because congress does not recognize the needs of Americans.

      It's absolutely mind-boggling that Congress continues to let billions of untaxed dollars leave our shores because they cannot around the fact that people love to play poker games online in their pajamas. The major attraction online poker has over retail traditional cardrooms is that people online can play as for as little as one cent, whereas in traditional cardrooms they have to pony of hundred of dollars to have the same experience.

      About poker vs investment:

      Placing a bet (or as you people call it here a buy/sell order) on whether x company stock will go up or down or x index will go up/down on so and so date or by so and so date is certainly analogous--and will be recognized as such by any rational thinking person--to the way poker is played.

      You can make the argument that skilled investors/traders using a profitable strategy are able to curtail and/or neutralize the short term volatility of the '"markets" the more these investors/traders approach the long run, thereby debunking the idea that investing/trading is anything to poker. But that is precisely the argument skilled poker players use and that is precisely how they approach and play the game. Skilled investors/traders and skilled poker players are one and the same in how they devise and execute winning strategies that work out in the long run irregardless of turbulent short term volatility.

    • @JD
      You are obviously ignorant to the intricacies of poker if you can't wrap your head around it's comparison to investment or trading. If you see it as strictly a form of gambling, I encourage you to do a little research. Poker and Game Theory are studied in Ivy League schools for good reason, as the skills that are used in both can be applied to many other areas in life, such as trading or investing. Here is an example of Game Theory being taught at Yale ( http://academicearth.org/courses/game-theory ). I don't understand why people such as yourself still can't comprehend that poker is not just gambling. Sure, there is some luck involved, just as there is in the stock market, but you make your wagers based on the numbers being in your favor. It's the only form of gambling where you can pit your skills against another person and are not playing your odds against the "house." Pitting your skills against other skilled contenders? This sounds just like the many sports our entire globe considers to be cultural pastimes. Just because we are putting money on the table, doesn't make it bad or morally unacceptable. Grown adults should be able to do what they like with their money, especially when there is no victimization and the only other people involved are other consenting adults.

      I don't know what country you've been living in JD, but I eat too many saturated fats at restaurants all the time and have never been arrested. I've not worn a bike helmet since I moved out of my parent's house and have never been fined or jailed. I see God mentioned in public often enough to make me sick and tired of hearing it, but have never seen someone get in trouble with the law for said actions. And I'm pretty sure I can go buy any ol' incandescent light bulb I want, though I don't see how you can be mad at the government if they choose to phase them out while offering an equally effective, yet environmentally better, alternative. That's just a silly example. The government can discourage whatever it wants, but shouldn't tell me that I can't spend my money on entertainment that is one of our pastimes. Drugs are different. They are illegal, and many for very good reason. Poker is a game, a sport, and a form of gambling. There is no valid reasoning for it be outlawed. America should be taxing it and regulating it to ensure the safety of their citizen's funds and making a few dollars itself. We need all the extra money we can get. And for what it's worth, poker is the best investment I've ever made. There's no way you can argue against me on that fact.

    • @JD It would be fairly easy to prevent minors from playing. All the sites would have to do is require you to send a e-mail of a copy of your drivers license, which is what they currently require if you want to cashout with checks anyway.

    • leave it to democrats to find ways to separate people from their money. the demographic looking for online poker is vastly different from the investing community, who by in large, have significant asset as compared to the ne'er do wells hooked on gambling. and please don't mention the vast knowledge and skill one has to have to play poker - you're playing against a stacked deck, whether it's a virtual dealer or the real thing. this is just another liberal pursuit of decadence resulting in the hastening of the soup kitchen for losers.

    • CG, there are efforts by American liberals to ban all the things I said they try to ban, and efforts by these same people to legalize all the things I say they want legal. I never said they had won any of those battles yet.

      RE: poker vs investment - you miss the major point. An investment is an investment in our economy. The benefits aren't limited to the investor. Our economy needs investment. Our economy doesn't need poker. Poker certainly has an element of skill, but it also has a strong element of luck. My point is that one is far more important and legitimate than the other. I can make that point without poker being completely horrible.

      And let's face it, online service age limits are very, very easily subverted today. The argument is valid whether you like it or not.

      Look, I'm not even saying online poker shouldn't be legal. I'm saying the priorities are way out of whack.

    • Let's not forget that the only reason we have to pass this legislation to get our personal freedom back is because the UIGEA (which made it illegal to make online poker transactions) was thrown into a port security bill in the Bush years by social conservatives. It still blows my mind that people like JD can be so obviously clueless when it come to something as fundamental to this country as personal freedom and liberty. Why should anybody care what I do with my own money!? It's my money, I should be able to do whatever the hell I want with it..

    • playing poker is no more or less an investment in the economy than washing dishes at a restaurant is.

      these are jobs people do to make money.

    • Lol @ JD's statement - "Our economy needs investment." Like our economy needed AIG, GM, Chrysler, Ford, etc... These investments did more damages to our economy than poker.

    • Because of sudden heart attack and stroke, I went from a Leadership Professional who traveled all over the world to being almost totally housebound. I play online poker for therapy and enjoyment. This is the game my wife and I have enjoyed for over 20 years. Small stakes and tournaments is our only recreation. How can I be proud of our leadership if they can infringe on our rights and take this away from us? Mrs. Obama once said, "This is the first time I have been proud of my country." I'm saying, "this is the first time I am not proud." I am also a Veteran that fought for all of our rights.

      Thomas Jefferson

    • I am a 100% service connected disabled Veteran. I am 62 years old and I play onlike poker for relaxation and amusement only. I enjoy playing with players from all over the world. The internet has given us this freedom to meet and make friends with people of foreign countries. What a wonderful way to make friends and enjoy a universal game. I can play for free or I can play a low stakes tournement and play a game of skill. It is all entertainment for me. After all the money I use has been earned by me, taxed by government. I should have the freedom to use my money for my amusement only. This is much more entertaining then any slot machine that requires no skill other then to be able to feed your money into a coin slot and repeatedly push a button and hope you are there at the right time to win a small portion of your money back... no skill there..
      Internet poker has provided many many hours of entertainment and should be allowed to continue. nuff said.

    • anyone who still thinks that wall street isnt rigged is sadly mistaken..i trust poker sites way more than stock brokers

    • Government has vastly overstepped its right and reason--we need to let folks know that this will not stand as "alright." That's the only way to fix this--you think we are organized now? The poker players alliance is nothing near what needs to happen--is not nearly sufficient...We need ALL poker players--internet or not, real money or fun only players--to stand up and say enough is enough. Let politicians be served notice--we the people...we call the shots in America, not them...not Indian tribes, not corporations--its the people who make policy for America...period.

    • eoooqkyqlsma

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