You Bet is Happy About Poker Legislation

May 22, 2009

With the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, online gambling payment processing was made illegal. However, poker playing was not included in the bill, as it is not a game of chance; rather poker is a game of skill. But most people do not realize this, and stopped playing poker as they thought it was illegal.

But with Rep. Barney Frank’s new legislation, people will start to realize that they are not doing anything wrong by playing poker online. If they go to a site that offers just poker, it is perfectly legal to play. However, they cannot go to a site that offers poker along with online gambling because that is where it starts to get sticky.

Michael Brodsky, Chief Executive Officer of YouBet.com says that the legislation is a “welcome and realistic approach to US internet gambling.” He said that not only will it allow the US to make money off of the industry, but it will also protect those people who choose to play in it. He says that the bill recognizes that there are a lot of people who play poker and participate in online gambling, even though the latter is illegal. This will not only protect those people, but it will also protect those that are underage gambling as well.

The poker industry as a whole has really embraced the new legislation as they feel that even if it is not “perfect” it is a much better alternative to what they are living with now. They say that this will go a long way to clearing the name of online poker playing especially after scandals like those that went on at Absolute Poker.