I have been reserving my opinion about the UIGEA for a long time. Thinking that someone would come to his or her senses in the US. But I am afraid that with the political agendas of the selfish, uninformed and greedy politicians that has been pushing for the ban of online gambling, it gets pushed further and further into the gutter. The law enforcement agencies are trying their best to proof that they will prosecute those they feel are breaking this new law, costing the US tax payer millions of dollars.
The sick and twisted way the judge is handling the case against David Carruthers by twisting the old wire act to also include online casinos, whilst it definitely AND specifically states "sports betting" is further proof that they want to take an insufficient backdoor law that was amended to a port security bill, to arrest innocent people and they will bend the law in order to prosecute them. They have to do this because in reality, if you look objectively at the gambling laws in the US. Online Gambling is NOT illegal. Not by some law signed by George Bush anyway. These laws are applicable by state. However the UIGEA is applicable to banking transaction done related to illegal online gambling. This is in itself flawed as it is impossible to apply such a law using state laws and the internet! “Sorry, where exactly did you gamble? Mmmmmm On your PC at home?”… “Ummmhhh not sure, because if I am not connected to the server in Gibraltar I cannot gamble. Mmmmmmm come to think of it, I believe that means that I am actually gambling on a server in Gibraltar not at home.” Thinking about it, not even the money is exchanged in the US, but on a SSL server based in the UK. Does that make you think? Well it did make the courts in South Africa think and has won a court case for Piggs Peak in South Africa, as this became a dead end debate. Can the internet be compared to a motor vehicle used to travel with?
Read about the fall of the US democracy, black Friday and form your own opinion.
I want to however try and think what good and honest reasons there can be to prohibit online gambling. Looking at this from a completely different point of view.
Being South African and having the pretty raw history of ill politicians driving ulterior motives into people for their own personal gain, I am able to see these motives clearly in the people that are behind this bill. One of the easiest things to see through in their speeches and debates is that they lack real knowledge as to what they are trying to control. However the old, (very old) card that has always been played by politicians when they want something for personal gain, or rather ulterior motives is the Christianity and family values card and South Africa is famous for it's racial card.
The TV stations and press plays the game with the politicians and everyone is being convinced that online gambling is evil, funding terrorism and probably responsible for 100's of suicides in the country. These images are probably being imprinted into the US public as we speak. I honestly do not know, what I do know is that similar things were imprinted into South Africans for many years and my parents for one strictly believe that gambling is evil and ruins every man that ever do it. Our preacher was regularly warning us about the sins of gambling and how bad it is. Today, having worked at some online casino operators and being a poker player myself I finally see it for what it is.
I can't help but to realize that the new generation, irrespective of age is going to make it more and more difficult for lying politicians like Bill Frist to get away with lies and greed like this. The younger generation see through the brain washing and bs that has been in the world for so many decades. Where people were talking nonsense into their own minds and even starting to believe their own lies. Society is becoming more understanding of the real meaning of life. More understanding to others and their needs and beliefs. Does politicians have the right to completely destroy democracy and the rights of people and deliberately feed the evil by making online gambling illegal and driving it under ground?
Deliberately feed the evil? What are you saying!!! that is not true! I listened to some problem gambling idiot one day. Talking from complete stupidity on US television about online gambling and how good it is to make it illegal. Through the entire discussion I picked up that he actually truly believed that the US is acting correctly to make it illegal. The point is he was wrong! VERY wrong. Problem gambling, despite forming a VERY small percentage of online gambling will NOT become safer because it is now illegal. It will NOT grow at a slower speed and it will NOT cure this illness. Infact it acts as a multiplying factor to screw up more people's lives, even those that does not have a problem with gambling and mess up more lives than it will do any good. The question is how?
The current laws are driving online gambling underground and opening the doors for any Tom, Dick and Harry to open a online casino and literally steal the players money. See the players will still play, they will still want to play. The problem is there is always someone (for a quick buck) that will want to take their money! BUT because the US government reckon that it is illegal to participate in online gambling these players will have to part with their money, without ANY recourse when it is stolen. The legitimate operators has pulled out from the US. The operators that actually do lock accounts of problem gamblers, casinos that actually pay their players and are legitimate businesses listed on stock exchanges in countries like the UK, not businesses run out of some flat in Nigeria.
Further more where does Christianity and family values interfere with the rights of people and their beliefs. Well, being a Christian myself I can see where many come from, fighting the gambling evil. The problem is that it is so human to act this way. So human to judge! So human to make assumptions! So human to preach to others! So human to blame others for your own messes.
The fact is however. We all have different values and morals. The values advocated by politicians and most people in society are done for personal gain and doesn't reflect truly who an individual is. Modern society however started to realize that and has different standards about this. Suddenly you are "in" because you are yourself. People are starting to except you for who you are, and we all understand that each individual has their own rights. Regardless of race, religion and place in society.
Politicians will advocate against legalizing prostitutes but that same politician is one of the top clients of some top class prostitutes. If they get caught, the press goes crazy at how we were all mislead and how bad a person he is. The fact of the matter is, we are all human and will make mistakes. Politicians do not and will not support the regulation of online gambling if they believe it will cost them votes. But tonight at home they will play their game of poker, where society cannot judge them. They are “Great pretenders” that handle their position in politics like the guy with the corner supermarket. He only puts on the shelf that will sell. He doesn't keep stock of stuff that will not sell. Politicians are exactly the same. They only show to people what people want to see and that gets them elected. Very few are really worth their time in office.
The fact is that online gambling with their high payout percentages and payouts audited by some of the leading auditing companies in the world, are much safer and better controlled than any land based casino can ever be. They are able to exactly identify every individual that plays at their establishment. They are monitored by several experts for cheating and they offer much more entertainment value. If you think about it, they are a real threat to landbased casinos, this fact alone must cause major concern for landbased casinos in the US, which BTW are legal.
Lets look at the benefits of regulating online gambling. It is a known fact that most online casinos are licensed and regulated. Many of them in places like Kahnawake and Gibraltar which if you read my Objective view on online gambling are well regulated. Many casinos have the eCOGRA seal which if you read my articles about eCOGRA is strongly regulated from the software architecture to the payouts. The fact of the matter is, if online gambling is regulated, then the power is in governments hands to protect the players and their people. Problem gambling can be addressed properly through the benefits of the database and individual identification that online gambling offers. Protect our people and quit the personal agendas, because that is the right thing to do.
It is ironic that after 9/11 for the first time it was said that online gambling finances terrorism. Never since online gambling started has there ever been any proof that this is the case, not even remotely. However no one ever asked for proof of this statement as this certainly must be true, but then again, 9/11 was so horrific that people tend to believe anything if it was related to the war on terrorism.
So where to from here? Well the US government says that the WTO rulings against the US is not important, as it doesn't serve the personal agendas of their politicians. So the WTO ruling doesn't apply to them. Infact they will change the trade agreement with all the other countries that signed it because they can. It is not about the good for the American people, instead it is what the politicians in control of these matters want. The repercussions of this refusal to adapt to the WTO ruling, is of nul importance too, as long as the politicians gets the votes and make the money. The only way forward, is for the American people to say, enough is enough. We want our freedom and pride for our country back! Lets voice up against these liars and tell them what they as public representatives are supposed to do.
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