[Content Disclosure: Poker 83%, Politics 72%, Insanity 12.4%, Fundamentalism 11%, Gross Stupidity 101%]
For those who are not poker fans: You really need to read this.
For those who are poker fanatics: Ditto!
For those who pay taxes to the US Treasury: You really gotta read this!!!
1. In October 2006, the US government pasted the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act.
2. The UIGEA is not yet being enforced because of the vagueness of the language in the bill.
3. By other means (arrests and intimidation) the US government has closed it's online gaming market to most foreign companies.
4. Antigua sued under provisions of the World Trade Organization and won repeatedly.
4a. Antigua is now attempting to collect on a $3.4 Billion judgment against the US.
5. Thirty-five countries -- including the 27 members of the EU -- have joined Antigua and Barbuda's complaint to the WTO. Current estimates are that these claims could conservatively amount to over $100 Billion in additional trade penalties.
Here it comes, get ready:
The United States government is negotiating away trade concessions and tariffs in the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, in order to maintain the online gaming restrictions. The negotiations are underway and changing the law to allow regulated and taxed online gaming is NOT on the table.
And here you thought the right wing was only trying to control who you marry and what you read and how you educate your children. Nope! They also are going to have you paying more for foreign products and have US products be less competitive both at home and overseas, so they can stop the evil of internet poker. Oh, by the way, it is OK to use the internet to bet on horse racing and state lotteries; those gambling options were exempted from the legislation. They had higher paid lobbyists.
