Hope it's okay to start a new thread about this specific debate. Obviously the AP threads are getting pretty long and crazy and it becomes difficult to hold a discussion on one topic when you have about 10 different topics being covered at a time.
Anyway, if another AP thread is inappropriate then mea culpa and feel free to lock or whatever.
Anyway, from the most recent I hinted that I didn't think mass-media exposure of this was a good thing.
More concerned with the lobbyists having all kinds of ammunition of how these unregulated 3rd world sites can just walk-away with your money at any time so we need to ban them all.
Obviously the same argument can be made to regulate this stuff WITHIN the U.S. But the anti-internet-gambling folks will probably benefit more from the negative spin they can put on this imo.
In the same thread Jim Kuhn said:
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This series of events could be very good or very bad for online poker. I think it could turn out very bad. Millions of losing players may think 'they were cheated' and not come back to online poker.
This may also add fuel for politicians wanting to ban online poker and those 'on the fence'. They may state something to the effect 'see this is why the legislation was passed and we are trying to ban online poker altogether. You can never be sure about cheating online and we need to do everything we can to 'protect our citizens''. Or some other similar political bs statements. They already had the chance to regulate and tax online gambline and declined. In this sense I am very glad to be a Libertarian!
Thank you,
Jim Kuhn
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Later in the thread five4suited said:
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Sorry for spamming, but the story is up on MSNBC now:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21364557/
I've been reading for the last two days and was on the fence about whether mass media exposure would be a good thing. I understand and agree that in the long run, online poker will be better regulated and better off because of it. There must be full disclosure here if online poker is going to survive. However, this msnbc article is going to be read by a whole lot of American fish, and their reaction is not going to be positive for online poker at all.
Think about all the people who suck at poker and donate $500 and never return. They read MSNBC, not 2+2. Every parent of every college kid who maxed out a credit card will have a cause to rally 'round. They are the baby boomers, they are rich and they are accustomed to getting their way. Those of you who are in college now will be able to confirm this; I imagine you'll start hearing from randoms that "they knew it was fixed" shortly.
Throw in the fundamentalist Republicans and there will be a backlash, to say the least. For those who are "independents" where online poker is concerned, this MSNBC article might be the only one they read.
Now that the cat is out of the bag, so to speak, our only recourse is a full-court press to ensure that the information out there is accurate, well-reasoned and includes the phrase "this is an isolated incident." We're gonna have to work real hard to make sure this ends well for American online players. I think before it's all said and done, I'll be glad I live in LA.
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