Land of the Free? Not if the US Government has anything to say about it!

The US government would like to promote its idea of democracy to the world. Educate countries on free speech and the democratic process allowing for governments to be chosen by the people in the hope of representing the people. US foreign policy often revolves around the support of fledgling nations as they look to emerge from military dictatorships or versions of communism. Some would say that should that country have oil reserves then that support appears all the more quickly and with a greater US presence.

Through these difficult times when international banking has been shaken to its roots and economies of so many countries balance on the fence of recession or recovery, financial bailout or bankruptcy it has been preached that we should warn against protectionism and encourage free trade and work together globally to begin to recover from one of the biggest financial meltdowns ever. Unfortunately the last true superpower, the global behemoth America preaches what it doesn’t practice.

There are many things that exist on this planet that are deemed bad for us, cigarettes, alcohol and fast food to name but a few! All of which if consumed to excess can have a detrimental effect on our health yet for now all are legal and readily accessible. The word tangent may be foremost in your mind when I tell you that online poker if consumed, played to excess can have a detrimental effect on your mental health as well as quite possibly your bank balance.

Have you joined the dots yet?

OK let me explain the first three of cigarettes, alcohol and fast food while bad for you are still legal in the US although they now come with warning stickers and pictures educating people as to their harmful effects. The fourth, poker is banned! The US which has the Mecca of all gaming cities Las Vegas has decided to prevent its citizens from logging on, signing up and joining the rest of the world around a digital green felt table and playing cards.

Attempting to offer some understanding to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 it is true that people of an addictive nature and those who have fallen on desperate times need protection and support to prevent over use and the potential of dependency and or financial ruin. It could be said that people do need protecting from themselves and legislation should encourage gaming companies to act responsibly promoting the game of poker and online gaming by putting safe guards in place. Or is online gaming of which I include poker too wicked for the general population to make their own decision as to whether or not to play and how much to spend?

I ask you, other than access and therefore convenience what is so different for an American to log on and sit down at table with his chips or to drive down to their local casino and do the same?

To say that online gaming is unregulated is a little rich, the European Union is one of the strictest governing bodies in the world and gaming has come under its watchful eye on many occasions. Gaming is far more tightly regulated than in the US , yet the citizens of the EU can sit down with a coffee log on to one of the many gaming sites and shout 'all in!' Sorry that’s a poker term for the uninitiated.

So why does the land of the free, the champion of free speech America prevent its subjects from online gaming. Should you read the gaming act, 2006 legal jargon terms like money laundering and fraud are common and there to prevent companies from accepting transactions from US citizens for fear of prosecution. As of April, 2011 the US Attorney for New York indicted three major gaming sites of PokerStars, FullTilt Poker and Absolute Poker closing down their dot com websites for breach of the gaming act, 2006. To hold such power does smack somewhat as global censorship as the sites were not reactivated until the companies agreed to release US held funds and no longer accept payments from American accounts.

At the risk of losing millions per day in revenue these global companies agreed, the US government's terms which kind of held all the cards wouldn’t you say?

I like many others watch how the US Attorney's office will now proceed, will a prosecution arise? Will this multi-billion dollar industry be prevented from accessing the US market? The gaming companies have some pretty big allies should this show ever reach the inside of a US court room. The World Trade Organization (WTO), European Union and Antigua have ruled that the US are in breach of trade agreements and have filed for compensation for the second time! The first time the US agreed an undisclosed out of court settlement, an admission of wrong doing I wonder?

At the risk of this article becoming too long I leave you with a thought. Pokerstars and FullTilt Poker two of the largest gaming companies cited by the US government are registered companies outside of the US, the European Union to be exact. The European Union is one of America’s most respected and largest trading partners but does it pain the US over all that lost tax revenue? I wonder if the US were the market leader in providing online gaming solutions would they be so quick to shut down an industry that already exists within its borders just in a different form? Or would it work to regulate and develop this new business and the tax dollars it brings with it? Self interest I hear you say? Hypocrisy? It could be called many things, but perhaps we should consider the people and companies that it affects, this I leave to another article.