[Jestocost]

I'm afraid there's not going to be a simple and easy answer to any of this. Companies make complex business decisions based on potentially subjective criteria all of the time; some are more prone to a conservative approach others are more willing to take risks. Just as some poker players are more likely to gambool and others are weak-tight, so it is with companies. You can find successes in either camp.

In many cases, attorneys won't give you a black and white answer on an issue. The Internet gambling legislation is one that has been open to interpretation and there are many gray areas. One company when presented with a range of options and the accompanying risks will opt for a risk averse position and lay down. Another company may elect to take the risks.

In addition, the Internet gambling law can have an impact above and beyond what it explicitly bans. Online poker sites can fully believe that they are operating legally and are exempt from the U.S. law, but if their banks and other service providers believe otherwise then it may be a moot point. It can be argued that the publicly traded UK/Gibraltar poker sites have by virtue of their legal structure of choice made themselves more prone to the effects of these kinds of influences.

In the end, reasonable people presented with the same set of facts may come to different conclusions. Party, Sportingbet, 888, et al have determined that their best interests lie in complying with the U.S. law despite potentially valid legal opinions suggesting that they don't need to. Full Tilt, PokerStars, UltimateBet and others have taken the same basic inputs and elected to place their faith in those viewpoints, in the face of the risk that they may be proven to be wrong or that circumstances may not play out in their favor. Perhaps one side will be proven to have made the correct choice or maybe something else entirely will be the key to long term survival and success.

Like poker, business frequently is a game of incomplete information. It doesn't lend itself to completely objective analysis. Sometimes you gamble against all odds and come out ahead, sometimes you play it safe and get rivered by a two outer. Time will tell what happens in the Internet gambling world.