opinions on paper!

[iDONKEDyoo]

Hey everyone, I'm writing a paper outlining the UIGEA and what the PPA has to do in order to help out online poker. I realize some of the laws are somewhat ambiguous, and would like clarification from anyone and also the opinions of my fellow poker playing community.

Here are a few questions I am considering...

1. I took the standpoint that obviously we want online poker to continue. However, Frist makes some good points about degenerate gambling and broken families from gambling etc..What is your reason that we should keep online poker? I'm not looking for an answer like "I WANNA PLAY POKER" or something but something serious...with good background knowledge and evidence...

2. What have u done to try to help the process? What do you think needs to be done?

3. How has this law affected your life?


Thanks guys. I'm trying to get my paper published so that maybe we can get some more attention and speed up the process.

all opinions welcome thanks!

[TheEngineer]

If you search under "I'm writing a paper about UIGEA", you'll find a lot of info, as we get this request a lot.

1. Frist didn't make any good points, IMHO. He hates poker because and only because he thinks it's immoral, so he made up reasons to justify this. That's why Frank's licensing bill, IGREA, endeavors mainly to strip these excuses away. As for the reason we want it legal, it really is "I wanna play, and it's none of the federal government's business". Government shouldn't be in the business of protecting people from themselves, especially in my own home. Rather, they should be protecting our freedoms. This is a free country.

2. Read through the forum and you'll find plenty of advocacy efforts. Here's mine: Fight for Online Gaming (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=9946416&an=0&page=0#Post 9946416)

3. It's reduced my earning rate.

Good luck with the paper. For what types of publications are you looking to publish?

[dippy111]

For the first question, a good direction to go is looking at historical data. Frist can argue all he wants about immorality, but the fact is people will always play poker. Especially the addicts. He argues that online poker creates new addicts because its so accessible, which is true but straight out outlawing poker isn't the solution. Look how well prohibition turned out. Take a look at the success of other countries that have decided to regulate instead of ban online poker. There are solid economic reasons why regulation is better. It's hard to argue about the morality of something because it's a matter of personal opinion, however doing a comparative study with real facts could be useful. Good luck with the paper. Post it when you're done

[Jeffiner99]

[ QUOTE ]
Frist makes some good points about degenerate gambling and broken families from gambling etc..What is your reason that we should keep online poker?

[/ QUOTE ]

I think it is probably easier to prove that unfaithfulness breaks up more families, so should we outlaw women? What about over spending? Families break up over money issues all the time. Should we outlaw spending? Credit cards? Drinking does considerable damage. Back to prohibition? The draconian drug laws take kids and parents away from the family as well. But of course we can't get rid of that. What about overeating? Spouses leave all the time because they are no longer attracted to their mate. Shall we get rid of McDonald's? What about the stock market? I venture that more fortunes are lost there than in a poker room? What about heart attacks? Those break up a lot of families and the hospital bills are a killer. Shall we enforce eating habits? What about vitamins? Are those a must? Are pizzas to be outlawed? If we outlaw sex altogether then we won't have to worry so much about families at all. Perhaps that is the solution? Certainly the world would be more productive if men stopped thinking about sex every six seconds. Shall we legislate that?

What about the things that are good for us? If the gov't can stop us from doing things that might hurt us, can it also insist that we do the good things? How much exercise must I perform each day? Crunches or cardio? How much of each? How many vegetables must I eat? Am I allowed any red meat? Is pork ok? Or only turkey? Must I move from a large city to a healthier mountain town? Shall I be forced to stop driving? Lots of people are killed every day in cars. And what about the fact that last week I painted a room without opening a window. That must have been bad for me. Do I have to pay a fine?

See how ridiculous this is all sounding?

The point is that we are human. We do things that hurt us all the time. But if the gov't is going to step in and try to "protect" us from all those "vices" then say goodbye to all your liberties.

We should keep online poker for the same reason we keep candy and liquor and music and books and fancy clothes and restaurants and movies and the stock market and Las Vegas and porn and all the pleasures of being human. Because I want to do it and I am not hurting you by doing it and it is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS! These are my liberties you are messing with, get your filthy hands off!

[Skallagrim]

Some people can become addicted, to one degree or another, to anything pleasureable. While gambling addiction does occur, it is somewhat less frequent in poker because of the skill factor in the game.

But you can protect the addict far better with legal. open and, to a degree, regulated places to play. It is a sad fact that a significant portion of the US seems to believe, despite so much evidence to the contrary, that suppression of what some consider vices and others consider pleasures makes for good social policy. Sadder still are the politicians who exploit such misconceptions.

I enjoy poker and am a memebr of the PPA who does write his representatives about this issue.

You may also find intersting various threads discussing the current legality of poker, especially under the UIGEA, to be found in this forum. You may be surprised at the result.