The long term future of Online poker

[Robbie01]

Hi all I am interested to hear what people think will happen to poker in years to come. At this minute it is on A down spiral (US Laws, Netteler Etc). Does anyone think poker will boom again sometime or will it just fade away? tx

[Prismis]

Obviously the external environment (US Laws, Netteler, Etc.) has made it extremely difficult for online poker to grow or even stay at its current position. With a lot of people drawing out of online poker, games will lose a lot of donkeys, yet I am doubtful that online poker will die off. A lot of people don't fully understand the ramifications of the US Laws. It doesn't outlaw online poker, it just doesn't allow you to transfer money through American bank accounts. I have not experienced any problems with Neteller as of yet, and I think that there will always be a demand for online poker. Many poker sites, such as Full Tilt, Pokerstars, and Bodog have addressed the problems in the external environment and have stated that they aren't going anywhere. I recently signed up for a rakeback site (www.rakebackforever.com) and their newsletters have assured customers that online poker will stay strong. They have also given me a back a hefty amount of rake. With online poker still pretty strong after the legislation, I feel that there is no way it will fade away.

[swingdoc]

Admittedly the decision by neteller to prohibit transactions from US banks is going to be a problem - albeit minor. The current legislation is mmm, interesting and barely scrapes by the former WTO ruling that the US could not declare international online gambling illegal for their citizens, as that would be a violation of international law. The current piece of legislation apparently was passed by piggy-backing onto a port security or authority bill. So, essentially, the US government is fighting an uphill battle to stem the tide of online gambling, a battle I doubt they can win.

Why shold online poker succeed? First point is that just about any industry that is successful in real life, and whose product/service is amenable to online retail has succeded quite well onine. Poker (in general) is absolutely booming right now. B&M poker rooms are springing up and operating successfully everywhere they are legal. The consumers are obviously there and the convenience of the internet (including lower limits, lower rakes, convenience, etc) makes this game even more attractive to new players.

Unless international law changes significantly, the online poker rooms will continue to flourish, although they obviously may slow their growth while Americans sort out what precisely their new law means.

By the way, can some admin please ban prismis and his obvious rakeback whoring?

Nate

[Skleice]

I'm not as up on this info as I should be (especially with a growing bank roll on Stars). But, I don't understand the logic behind it. Online poker is a goldmine for everybody involved (except the fish). Players benefit with experience and $$, and obviously the sites are making bank. The government can make this a win for them too. Shutting down online play does not benefit the government. Finding a way to get a piece of the action would. I would think the government would lean towards finding a way to tap that resource...not shut it down. I've also heard arguements that they believe shutting down online will boost casino turn out. That may be true IF YOU LIVE NEAR A CASINO! But, if you compare the number of people playing online everyday to the people that live near a casino and could go everyday, there is a big difference. I live an hour away from a casino, but I can't find time to make it there a whole lot. However, I play online pretty much every day.

[FourByFour]

Online poker will be "legal" in America again, once it's in the hands of the big US corporations and the Govt can grab a slice of it in taxes.

It's clear as crystal, backed up by the Neteller charges, that the American's big beef is with the billions of dollars leaving the country. I don't think the legality is an issue (although it's a weapon). It's the fact that USA Inc has missed out and US Govt is losing a big chunk of budget.

[Poker Plan]

Poker is gambling

Gambling is popular.

The internet is popular (and becoming more so)

The internet is an ideal medium for gambling (convenience, lack of intimadation across the table, easily accessible)

The world culture is moving more (in general) towards materialism and "get rich quick" scheme- which the uninformed see gambling as a answer.

Why is it going to go away?

Yes, it may reach a critical mass- but I really can't see why it will dry up.

Most vices prove to be perpetually alluring to each new generation that comes along.

[Sean Fraley]

The legislation might actually have been a good thing for internet poker in the long term. This would be due to the fact that it has forced some of the larger sites to start fostering interest in markets outside of the U.S. For the duration of the time that online poker and gambling are curtailed in the U.S., these companies will be working hard to pull in customers from Europe, Asia, and Africa. When online poker and gambling is finally legalized and regulated in the U.S., there will be entirely new sources of fish at these sites.

[JOHNY CA$H]

When the U.S companies are allowed to create sites and accept players in this recently-cleared market, it will boom bigger than ever in the U.S.

What, you didn't know Harrahs was one of Bill Frists' largest campaign contributors? You thought this legislation was about MORALITY??!!

[swingdoc]

Not so much about morality, no. The most convincing reason that I've read deal with Americans defaulting on credit card debts racked up by playing online poker, betting. The risk to the American financial infrastructure was serious enough that the government decided to lay down the smack. If this is the real motivation, why the [censored] didn't they just outlaw paying for gambling with credit cards? If they're worried about millions (?billions) in USD leaving the country they could have easily made online poker legal and had all that money plus a generous foreign influx coming into the US. From what I've read, most of the large casinos in America WANTED online gambling to be legal so they could host the sites/rake in the cash. I really wish I understood where this anti-online gaming sentiment is coming from.

[David LoPan]

why hasn't a US corp like MGM/Mirage or Harrahs or a similar company stood up and started a domestic US tax based service like this???

What's the hold-up?