eBay Wants You Arrested For Playing Online Poker
In a "what the fuck" move but it all makes sense for an inept, greedy monopoly, online auction behemoth eBay has thrown its support behind Chairman Mao Goodlatte's bill (H.R.4411) to ban Internet gambling, which passed yesterday in the House by a vote of 317 to 93.
Even more shocking though is that eBay wants to go further than Kim Jong-bob's legislation and have online gamblers prosecuted. Yes, eBay apparently wants you arrested for playing online poker.
Why would an online site which owns PayPal support congressional regulation of online activity and go as far as wanting law enforcement officials to monitor everyone's online activity, including tracking IP addresses?
Well, according to policy analyst Radley Balko of Washington think tank, the Cato Institute, it's all about protectionism. In an article posted over at Cato.org, Balko details the rise and demise of the original vision for PayPal, which eBay bought, ruined and now wants to, as Balko notes, "shield...from foreign competitors" like Neteller and FirePay, who aren't subject to U.S. law.
You see, when eBay purchased PayPal, PayPal was feeling the heat from politicians, regulators and lawsuits at the time so eBay caved in and no longer allowed customers to use PayPal accounts for online gambling. That move opened the doors for foreign companies like Neteller and Firepay, who could cater to the needs of American online gamblers while not having to fear the wrath of Eliot Spitzer and his cronies.
Now it looks like eBay is sucking up to Fidel Goodlatte because he's the chair of the Congressional Internet Caucus and because, if his bill becomes law, your bank will likely ban you from dealing with the likes of Neteller and Firepay, therefore effectively shutting PayPal's competition out of the U.S. market while trampling over our freedom to do what the hell we want with our own money.
And consider this: PayPal has recently signed agreements with two online gambling sites in Europe to allow its services to be used by Europeans who want to gamble online.
So basically eBay wants the business of European gamblers while its wants U.S. online gamblers to be prosecuted.
Bastards.
Definitely give Balko's article a full read as he does a much better job than the above of laying it all out. And after you read it, sign up for the Poker Player Alliance, if you haven't already.
Is Online Poker Legal?
The direct answer to the title question is: I don't know. I'm not an attorney, a Justice Department official, nor a Supreme Court Justice. Nothing here should be seen as legal advice.blackjack
What is here is a collection of court rulings and the best information on this subject that I have been able to find. Use it as you will. (Scroll down for information on the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006.)
Many recent events have brought attention to the legal standing of online wagering in general.casino online
The first thing to understand is the skill game of poker is not the same as sports betting nor even "random chance" casino games like craps and roulette. It may be treated the same eventually, but it may not. Legal precedent for a lot of this simply does not exist. As of this writing, no person has been charged, let alone brought to trial, let alone convicted, let alone sentenced for playing online poker. But this does not guarantee one or more of these things will not happen in the future.
http://www.gotocasino.com
Posted by: online casino | May 03, 2007 at 12:38 PM
Bastards
Posted by: Bull | July 13, 2006 at 11:02 AM