This is exactly what I knew would happen. The government now wants to go after online casinos, not because they are legally wrong, but because it is one of the fastest growing industries on the internet. You see, I don't own a single gambling site, but this still pisses me off............since when does the government have the right to block online casinos from operating? Oh, I forgot. We really don't live in a democracy, do we? We live in a plutocracy, and I can smell the involvement of offline casinos in this.......I wander how much the casinos paid to get this law passed. You can read the breaking news here:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060711/ap_on_go_co/internet_gambling Some of you may not be concerned about this because you do not own gambling sites, but you should be. See, the US government behaves in a very predictable manner. First they will go after online casinos, then porn sites, then the rest of the internet. The result, an internet which is controlled by governments and big corporations. Some of you may laugh, but you won't be laughing for long. A short term solution to the problem is to have gambling sites hosted in foreign countries that are not under US jurisdiction. However, those countries may eventually pass similar laws. I'm really getting sick and F*ckin tired of the US government. Any method that can allow the non rich man to make money is outlawed. Of course, I'm the conspiracy nut when I mention it. It is so obvious that these people want to destroy the internet. Most people won't believe it until they have succeeded. The internet is the only "true" free market left on the planet. But if these pieces of trash get their way, it won't be for long........
HAHHAHahahahhehe!!!!!!!!! Do you really believe that? If that is the case, why haven't they done anything to traditional offline casinos? I don't even like to gamble, I think it is a waste of money. But you know what? People should have the right to do it. This law is about money. period. Online gambling is a billion dollar industry, and the government is not getting their cut. As always, when the government doesn't get paid, they outlaw, or make it illegal.
Because they are not easily accessible to the masses. For example, I live in Texas. We do not have casinos here. To gamble, people would have to drive to Oklahoma, New Mexico or Colorado. For people living in those states, they still have to take time out and drive to a casino. Where online casinos can be called up from home, internet cafes, hotels (while on business), the office. Basically on demand all the time. Not sure I agree one way or another with the ruling. I have gambled a few times in my life when going to a casino with my parents, but I go more for the free rooms, food and to get away. I spend very little gambling myself. I work too hard for my money.
Gtech, any American who values freedom should know that there is something rotten about this ruling. It reminds me of Marijuana and prostitution. We could sit here and debate forever about whether or not gambling is right or wrong. I live in the state of Nevada, and though you are able to go pay $300 per hour at a brothel to get laid, you are arrested if you are caught by police with a call girl or street walker. The reason for that is because the call girl and street walker aren't paying taxes. It has nothing to do with morality or ethics. It has everything to do with money. Everyone should have the "right" to spend their money gambling online if they choose to. They are not harming anyone, and they make the decision to do it. Let me give your an example. If you are caught with "illegal' drugs, you can go to prison right? But you are allowed to buy expensive drugs like Prozac and Zoloft. Drugs like marijuana can not be easily regulated, just like the online casinos can't. And just like the online casinos, they are "illegal." And what about alcohol? Despite the fact that it can be 10 times more destructive than marijuana, it is perfectly legal. But you know what is scary about this Gtech? What scares me the most is it sets the stage for the government to begin regulating other areas of the internet. The people who are saying this is ok won't be happy when the government decides to go after education websites, or SEO sites. The internet needs to remain a totally free market, where even spam is allowed because if we let the government take over, the internet will die. Gtech, in China you and I are not even allowed to come to forums like this and chat! It is illegal. If the government can outlaw gambling sites, what stops them from taking out "dangerous forums where terrorists may get together and share information?" It is easy to see where this is headed.
Tesla, I can appreciate your argument, though I clearly do not agree with all the angles/aspects presented. I focused on the one part of your post, because it seemed clear to me why they do not go after offline casinos. It was an honest question and I felt I could provide an honest answer to it. Outside of that, I'm not particularly worried. Perhaps I should be, but with so many causes in the world, I tend to pick causes closest to my heart. While I have gambled a few times in my life, I have never sought out nor been interested in online gambling. I've never even tried to make an affiliate buck with them. It's not important to me. The only casinos I've ever been to are in Cripple Creek, Colorado and I only go there with my parents every few years to just get away and enjoy the mountains. I can appreciate the concern this causes you. I'm not convinced that regulating online casinos that prey on people's hopes of "winning big" is going to further turn us into China where we can't discuss important issues on a forum.
I'm pretty sure they can't go after "offline" casino's because they are on reservations. And from what I understand, they're allowed to basically do what they want. At least that's how it is here in Arizona... all the casino's have to be on reservations, maybe it's different elsewhere?
I say the US govt. should embrace the online casinos and tax the hell out of them. People are going to be self destructive. You can't change that and you can protect everyone from themselves. So accept it and make a ton of revenue from it.
Las Vegas is not on a reservation. I do not believe the casinos in Cripple Creek are on a reservation. I could be wrong on that, but I've never noticed anything Indian related there, nor is there anything saying "Welcome to xxxx Reservation" when entering the town.
Yeh... you're right about vegas i think.. they voted and passed some sort of state law on that. But i am pretty sure all the casinos in arizona are on reservations, and that's the only way they are legal... Interesting...
This is total BS and telsa is 100% correct about why they are doing this. No other reason but money. You can scream and holler about families and kids all you want, it's about the tax dollars. If they gave a shit about college kids, why did they cut student loan programs? Yea. Plus, this is going to stop nothing. Now, people will open accounts overseas and pay the casino's that way. So really all it's doing is hurting the U.S. banking and credit companies from lost revenue(not that it bothers me). I dont even gamble so it really doesnt effect me at all. This is just another freedom that Bush and his boys have stripped us of. High five to Bush and the republicans who supported the bill, good job.
We had that discussion back in February, remember? Someone made an unsourced claim that student loan programs were being cut (dejavu ?), everyone piled on thinking it was true. After some research, we (I say we, because you were in the discussion) learned the truth: http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showpost.php?p=642022&postcount=56
Never knew that. All I know is it was plastered alll over my T.V., DP, Digg, and everywhere else. I never got the news that it wasnt true. Good for Bush on this then, he didnt do anything bad afterall. It doesnt excuse the fact that banning online casinos is BS. They simply are mad about the lost tax rev. I think deep down, we all know that.
I think the government taxes us enough. The income tax is a fraud within itself, and most states and counties have what is called a CAFR, or comprehensive annual financial report. The states and federal government have more than enough money to run all of their operations. What this ruling shows is that the average American has no control over what laws are passed. While the Government in the US was supposed to be the power of the people, it now rests in the hands of a few powerful men. If the US was "truly" a democracy, the American people would decide whether or not online gambling should be outlawed. Now some people would say that the senators are elected by the people. But as we all know, senators can be bought and paid for, and this is exactly what I believe happened. A nation wide poll should have been taken. Just as a side note: My brother just got a selective service notice from the US military. I gave the letter to him, and told him he better not sign up, because the US is about to start a war with Iran, and this could lead to WWIII, or WWIV if you believe the Cold War was WWIII. In any event, I advice all you young males here at DP to do the same. Don't go get yourself killed in a war for rich old men who are trying to expand worldwide dominance. Now that they've banned online casinos, can somone please tell me what they are going to do to enforce it? Come to think of it, the government can't even shut down P2P networks. How are they going to remove the millions of American based gambling sites that are online? Hahahahheheh, I just thought about it. These morons are just blowing off hot steam. They won't be able to enforce the law. In fact, you can simply host your gambling site from a foreign country. HAHHAHAHAhhhaha, nice move government. You're going to have to play chess a little bit better than that if you hope to win. So there is my solution to this problem. If anyone here at DP has a US based gambling site, all you have to do is switch to a foreign based hosting company that isn't under US laws. Your business will be protected, and you can continue to operate as usual. Ha!