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US Poker Regulation Will US respect the global market or create a protectionist closed shop
Poker players across the world have endured the negative effects of the idiocy that is the UIGEA for the best part of two years. Just as the act is technically coming into effect – it maybe repealed … Harrah
On the face of it this is great news & not before time, the UIGEA hasn’t just made it increasingly difficult for US players to deposit … it has effectively torn through the global online gaming industry for the past couple of years making it hell for all of us.
IMHO the UIGEA etc is not legally sound, breaking global trade agreements – yet the US is a signatory.
Up until now it seems like everyone has been calling for online poker in the US to be regulated …
A fine idea in theory but IMHO the direction this idea is taking could be in danger of missing some fundamental points … and getting hijacked.
Online poker is a global game, played my millions across the globe – and while the US contributes a very large player base – there IS a world beyond the shores of the USA … and that world is not one the US government has the right or should be able to dictate to.
The rights of poker players across the globe is something the legislators and US government seem to forget or prefer to ignore, let’s hope they finally realise this.
The Future of Online Poker without Common Sense Regulation
While the UK has managed to regulate sites legally open in the United Kingdom, they have done this by white labeling and working with existing regulatory structures and other countries – NOT by closing out any non UK based operations. This is a crucially important distiction where the government set-out its regulatory requirements and then enable all those in the global village to work towards complying with the regulatory framework … It’s working as more offshore operations clean up their act things get better for ALL players.
This I think this maybe a far cry from what some in the US have in mind.
The good option after UIGEA is repealed is the US governemt setup an open regulatory structure like in the UK where exisiting companies wherever they are in the world COULD comply with the regulations and therefore operate legally open to the US market. This would generate those needed US tax dollars but would NOT exclude offshore businesses who under international law ARE entitled to be open to US business.
But there is every possibility that after the UIGEA is repealed …
Instead of those established and already regulated poker rooms being able to come back into the US market, joining an open but regulated US online gambling framework …
We find that US regulation has been hijacked to create a closed market for only US based casinos to build an online empire without challenge and competition from the global gaming industry.
This would create a 2 tier system with US poker players getting coralled into new online operations of the established land based casinos but legally excluding them from the existing globally recognised poker room and online casinos.
Who cares I hear our US poker players shouting
We want US companies we can trust, we want all the tax dollars kept in the US, we dont need the rest of the worlds poker players …
Really ?
A closed US market would be bad for all online poker including US players …
Culling player bases at those well respected poker rooms like PokerStars or FullTilt Poker currently with a world player base including US players. It would reduce competition and it would IMHO inevitably increase the rake and costs for US players at these sites.
While US players might get regulation, who & what would be getting regulated ?
A closed shop of a handful of known US landbased casino brands who wouldn’t need to give away too much for free to keep players – because you’d have very few other options.
IMHO this sort of carve out would be illegal under international trading agreements & the WTO effectively barring non US business from the US market.
Lets just hope the US legislators, Barney Frank and anyone else involved in this have the forethought and industry savvy to see this coming so we dont blindly go down the wrong path and a find its a false dawn of online poker.
I think the US legislators must recognise that while they can seek to regulate the sites open to US players BUT they cannot and should not be able to use this as a means to protect and boost a US only based online poker industry that hasn’t earned it’s stripes in a global economy.
Yes potentially there are tax dollars that can be raised with US players paying tax on winnings and with some level of fees and regulation for poker rooms to be able to service US poker players …
But it must absolutely be open to all poker sites, wherever in the world they are based providing they can prove compliance with common sense online poker regulation in the interests of the players – NOT just based on an existence in the US mainland and a promise of tax dollar revenue for the privilege.
In conclusion … I sincerely hope that Barny Frank and the legislators can see there way to remove prohibition and replace it with genuine regulation.
Regulation for the security of players with the handy addition of some much needed tax dollars – and not replace prohibition with something far more incidious – a US protectionist closed shop.
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