Headlines: Poker, Law, and Politics (1/24/07)

article:
The NETELLER Debacle (CardPlayer, 01/23/07)

Euro Poker News: Poker in France Suffers a Setback (CardPlayer, 01/23/07)

Largest Yet Study Of Online Gamblers Published (Online-Casinos, 01/24/07)

Legislators hear about tribe’s gambling deal (The News Tribune, 01/24/07)

Gambling has a grip on college campuses – especially among young men (The Wichita Eagle, 01/24/07)

‘Russian Mob’ 3 In Poker Bust (New York Post, 01/24/07)

Legal and commercial issues in the Asian online gambling market (Sport and Technology, 01/07)

Gambling Commission Issue Warning to Underground Clubs (Poker News, 01/24/07)

The Gambler’s Friend (Brown Alumni Magazine, 01/07)

media:
Joe Average Poker Show (01/24/07)

Privacy, Poker and Bouncing Boston Boobies (David Lawrence, 01/23/07)

press release:
British Public Backs New Online Gambling Laws in PKR.com and Yougov Survey (PKR, 01/22/07)

blogs:
Damn the UIGEA – Poker Was, Is, and Always Will Be (Ed Miller, 01/22/07)

Facts are Silly Things (RCFox, 01/24/07)

The Beginning of the End (Wil Wheaton, 01/19/07)

excerpt:
The NETELLER Debacle (CardPlayer, 01/23/07)
“The federal government is taking a fascinating position. The government purports that these gentlemen knew that operating NETELLER was illegal because of what was written in their prospectus when they went public. Allow me to digress.”

Euro Poker News: Poker in France Suffers a Setback (CardPlayer, 01/23/07)
“What exactly happened? How can the third edition of a widely popular live event be cancelled, only days after the French government officially voted the law allowing the introduction of poker in our 196 land-based casinos? The answer lies in the involvment of an online gambling website in the organisation of the French Open. After two highly successful tournaments in 2005 and 2006, the PokerStars banners and Chris Moneymaker posters aren’t welcome anymore in Le Salon des Ambassadeurs.”

Largest Yet Study Of Online Gamblers Published (Online-Casinos, 01/24/07)
“The largest and most comprehensive global study of online gambling and gamblers was unveiled to the press at the International Casino Exhibition in London this week. Covering 96 countries with responses from almost 11 000 international players after the study was publicised through a wide variety of online and offline media, the eCOGRA Global Online Gambler Survey was undertaken by the Betting and International Gaming Research Units at Nottingham Trent University.”

Legislators hear about tribe’s gambling deal (The News Tribune, 01/24/07)
“The Spokane tribe would also, for the first time ever in the state, be able to offer no-limit betting on table games such as poker and blackjack for 120 days a year at five tables in a single casino. That could mean all weekends and major holidays. Such high rolling would only be available to “pre-screened” customers, who also could gamble on credit.”

Gambling has a grip on college campuses – especially among young men (The Wichita Eagle, 01/24/07)
“Poker is red hot on college campuses these days. A small number of students have made it a full-time job, turning what is a game for most into a profession where tens of thousands of dollars can come and go in a single night. Today’s college students are among the first to grow up with gambling so accessible. Credit is easily available. Casinos, once relegated to Las Vegas and Atlantic City, are now scattered across 37 states. Poker is a regular feature on cable TV.”

‘Russian Mob’ 3 In Poker Bust (New York Post, 01/24/07)
“A Texas hold ’em player on a run of bad luck led feds to bust up a high-stakes underground poker game with links to the Russian mob. According to court papers, the illegal poker game was run out of Rasputin’s – a garish Sheepshead Bay supper club where the player racked up a $70,000 tab and refused to pay because he said the game was rigged.”

Legal and commercial issues in the Asian online gambling market (Sport and Technology, 01/07)
“The majority of Asian jurisdictions outlaw gambling but not specifically online gambling (except arguably Hong Kong). To the extent that online gambling is not prohibited, it is arguably permitted. This, however, is not a wholly robust argument to rely on as there can be no guarantee that local courts will not interpret such activities to breach local laws (particularly when pressured by wider political or cultural concerns) even where those laws particularly refer to bricks and mortar activity.”

Gambling Commission Issue Warning to Underground Clubs (Poker News, 01/24/07)
“In a press release issued to UK Poker News, Phill Brear, the Commission’s Director of Operations said, “Commercial poker in unregulated premises creates a range of risks and dangers, especially when substantial sums of money are invited or involved. “Following the guilty verdict in the Gutshot poker case, we are warning all card rooms and premises where we believe illegal commercial poker is taking place, that appropriate action will be taken against those who organise or provide unlawful gaming.”

The Gambler’s Friend (Brown Alumni Magazine, 01/07)
“Michael Bolcerek would be the first to admit there are a lot of good causes out there—fighting poverty, saving the planet, curing AIDS. But he thinks he’s found one that, while not as important in the grand scheme of things, still deserves his attention: protecting the rights of poker players.”

media:
Joe Average Poker Show (01/24/07)
“Along with the latest poker news and tournament results, Michael Bolcerek, Executive Director of the Poker Players Alliance, returns to give the latest updates on the future of on-line poker.”

Privacy, Poker and Bouncing Boston Boobies (David Lawrence, 01/23/07)
“Michael Bolcerek, head of PokerPlayerAlliance, joins us live from San Francisco to look at the recent arrests of the principals of NetTeller, a UK based online funding company, primarily providing accounts for online gambling. Will online poker ever be a reality here in the US, or will our government continue to defy the will of the majority of the citizens and make it their mission to legislate morality?”

press release:
British Public Backs New Online Gambling Laws in PKR.com and Yougov Survey (PKR, 01/22/07)
“Controversial government plans to license and regulate online gambling have strong public support according to a new survey conducted by PKR.com and YouGov. The findings, part of the Poker UK 2007 report issued by http://www.PKR.com, showed that 63% of the 4,630 respondents agreed with Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell’s strategy to oversee the online gambling industry from within the UK.”

blogs:
Damn the UIGEA – Poker Was, Is, and Always Will Be (Ed Miller, 01/22/07)
“That’s where it’s headed – back to normal. I don’t care about the UIGEA or the feds or whatever. I mean I care, but they definitely aren’t going to “kill” poker. Before Dutch Boyd invented online poker… before Al Gore even invented the internet… poker (legal and illegal) was vibrant and played regularly throughout the country. People played for a living, and many made good livings. Millions enjoyed the game.”

Facts are Silly Things (RCFox, 01/24/07)
“Today, PokerStars and FullTilt operate in the US.  Yes, they have no physical presence in the United States, but both pay individuals to promote their brands, both advertise on television, and both would be considered by US Courts to be operating in the United States.  That makes both entities subject to US laws, and their owners and employees subject to prosecution for violating those law.”

The Beginning of the End (Wil Wheaton, 01/19/07)
“I’m in shock, to be honest. I don’t see how online gaming hurts ANYONE or does ANYTHING that is bad (mmmkay) and I just don’t understand the jihad my idiot government is waging against online poker, while horse racing, dog racing, and state lotteries are still A-OK for anyone.”