Would it be feasable for an American to play online poker in Canada?

flytrap · #1 07-12-2006, 03:25 AM

I must plead complete ignorance on this one. Let's say that the sky is falling and this bill passes the Senate, and the worst case happens, which is they make it nearly impossible for Americans to gamble on the internet. Would it be possible for an American citizen to go to Canada and play? If so, how hard would it be to obtain the proper permission, etc, to live and work in Canada but retain US citizenship?

Pog0 · #2 07-12-2006, 04:37 AM

[ QUOTE ]
I must plead complete ignorance on this one. Let's say that the sky is falling and this bill passes the Senate, and the worst case happens, which is they make it nearly impossible for Americans to gamble on the internet. Would it be possible for an American citizen to go to Canada and play? If so, how hard would it be to obtain the proper permission, etc, to live and work in Canada but retain US citizenship?

[/ QUOTE ]

Seems like you'd have to go through a lot of trouble to convince the USA that you got a job in Canada. But I know nothing of any of these matters. Were you intending on taking on a cover job, or did I misinterpret your intention with the "live and work" bit.

CharlieDontSurf · #3 07-12-2006, 05:30 AM

If the bill passes you'll still be able to play on all the sites.

kevin017 · #4 07-12-2006, 07:08 AM

[ QUOTE ]
If the bill passes you'll still be able to play on all the sites.

[/ QUOTE ]

sounds like everyone's making a big deal out of nothing then? I thought one of the points of the bill was that gambling sites can/will be banned by ISPs?

AZplaya · #5 07-12-2006, 09:02 AM

[ QUOTE ]
If the bill passes you'll still be able to play on all the sites.

[/ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
sounds like everyone's making a big deal out of nothing then? I thought one of the points of the bill was that gambling sites can/will be banned by ISPs?

[/ QUOTE ]
I think a lot of people are missing the true implications of this bill. I have read a lot of "can I pull off this convoluted scheme and still play poker if this bill passes?" type of questions. The answer is clearly yes. If you want to play poker bad enough, you will be able to play online and not have any legal ramifications, IMO. The problem isn't "can a winning 2+2er still play online?" The problem is this: will the doctor who loves to get his whole stack in with a gutshot and gambool because he has money to burn still play in your NL $100 game 3 times a week after reading in the morning paper that online poker is now "officially" illegal? Winning players will go out of their way to find ways to play. But will the fish? Doubtful.

4thstreetpete · #6 07-12-2006, 09:32 AM

I don't think it would really matter as the bill will have huge implications. You'll still be able to play but it's the average joe who can't get their money into online sites that will be the concern. I live in Toronto Canada and I'm quite concerned about this bill.

When it comes to gambling I never have the mindset that a bill so ludicrous that it will never pass. About 10 years ago here in toronto it was legal to have charity casinos . It was fantastic as we would literally have small casinos scattered all over the city and nearly every corner. I could walk down the street and a casino would be there and another one a block away. It all changed when the government decided to ban this. At the time I remembered there were talk that it wouldn't happen but eventually it did and we stopped having charity casinos here ever since. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

Gregg777 · #7 07-12-2006, 09:47 AM

[ QUOTE ]
I think a lot of people are missing the true implications of this bill. I have read a lot of "can I pull off this convoluted scheme and still play poker if this bill passes?" type of questions. The answer is clearly yes. If you want to play poker bad enough, you will be able to play online and not have any legal ramifications, IMO. The problem isn't "can a winning 2+2er still play online?" The problem is this: will the doctor who loves to get his whole stack in with a gutshot and gambool because he has money to burn still play in your NL $100 game 3 times a week after reading in the morning paper that online poker is now "officially" illegal? Winning players will go out of their way to find ways to play. But will the fish? Doubtful.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think you have played enough non US sites, there are still plenty of fish.

AZplaya · #8 07-12-2006, 10:10 AM

[ QUOTE ]
I think a lot of people are missing the true implications of this bill. I have read a lot of "can I pull off this convoluted scheme and still play poker if this bill passes?" type of questions. The answer is clearly yes. If you want to play poker bad enough, you will be able to play online and not have any legal ramifications, IMO. The problem isn't "can a winning 2+2er still play online?" The problem is this: will the doctor who loves to get his whole stack in with a gutshot and gambool because he has money to burn still play in your NL $100 game 3 times a week after reading in the morning paper that online poker is now "officially" illegal? Winning players will go out of their way to find ways to play. But will the fish?
Doubtful.

[/ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I don't think you have played enough non US sites, there are still plenty of fish.

[/ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Gibraltar-based PartyGaming is one of the thousands of gambling sites in the $12 billion industry which would be hit hard by the proposed U.S. bill. The firm founded by the billionaire Anurag Dikshit and entrepreneur Ruth Parasol in 1997 is currently the world's largest online poker brand. It gets 80% of its revenue from the United States.

[/ QUOTE ]
I have played lot's on non U.S. sites. The bottom line is that the biggest fishbowl out there is Party, and if 80% of Party's revenue comes from the U.S., then I am concerned. I don't want to multi table B2B, that's for damn sure...

dustyn · #9 07-12-2006, 10:42 AM

[ QUOTE ]
I must plead complete ignorance on this one. Let's say that the sky is falling and this bill passes the Senate, and the worst case happens, which is they make it nearly impossible for Americans to gamble on the internet. Would it be possible for an American citizen to go to Canada and play? If so, how hard would it be to obtain the proper permission, etc, to live and work in Canada but retain US citizenship?

[/ QUOTE ]

It would be easier to play in America than move to Canada and play there. This bill does not make it illegal for you to play poker in America, it makes it illegal for American financial institutions to process gambling related transactions. Furthermore, it increases the penalties for people operating gambling businesses (if you see the "5 years in prison" thing, it's for people operating gambling businesses, not individual players). Obviously, the games will be the same regardless of where you play.