On the 15th of February US Congressman from Virginia Bob Goodlatte reintroduced HR 4777, the “Internet Gambling Prohibition Act. ” Goodlatte hopes to pass the bill, which will amend the earlier Title 18 of the united states Code containing the Federal Wire Act passed in 1961. The Wire Act outlawed telephone betting 토토사이트 by making it illegal to place bets by “wire transmission. “
The explosion of Internet poker rooms and sports books in recent years was possible only as a result of the ambiguity surrounding the definition of “wire”. While opponents of Internet gambling insisted that the meaning included cable, satellite, and cellular technology, no court would uphold a conviction based on that definition. Goodlatte hopes to amend that by expanding the Code to include all forms of electronic transmission, as well as to include all types of bets.
Earlier attempts to pass the legislation were thwarted by the lobbying efforts of Jack Abramoff, according to Gooodlatte’s office. But Abramoff’s recent guilty pleas to fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to bribe public officials have added political capital to Goodlatte’s campaign.
According to Goodlatte “Illegal online gambling doesn’t just hurt gamblers and their families, it hurts the economy by draining dollars from the united states and serve as a vehicle for money laundering, ” stated Goodlatte. “It is time to shine a bright light on these illegal sites and bring a quick end to illegal gambling on the internet. “
“But outlawing online gambling won’t stop the activity. ” says Will Catlett of Sportsbettingscams. org, an industry watchdog site. “It will only drive it underground. If online gambling is outlawed then the government will lose its ability to legislate online gambling policy and police it’s dangers, not to mention its ability to tax the transactions. Goodlatte’s bill will do exactly the opposite of what it wants to do. “
As of July 2005, according to Forrester polls, there were over 300, 000 gambling websites entertaining over 7, 000, 000 online gamblers. While the bulk of traffic to these websites initially came from the united states, that number is now around 40% as players are attracted from all over the world. If the bill is passed, the industry will shrink dramatically, and shift its focus to other nations. Meanwhile, online gamblers in the united states will be out of luck. “It’s amazing to me that this bill just might pass quietly with little or no resistance. ” says Catlett. “Anyone who enjoys gambling online really should write their State Representative to let them know why this bill shouldn’t go through. “The World has had its share of Black Fridays and the latest one involves the online gambling industry. For a long time, the gambling operators have made lucrative amounts by opening up their sites to all players. Sometimes the players win, but overall the house ends up on the winning side most of the time. This possibility of winning keeps both parties excited and in the business. To encourage players to come back, the operators have always offered great bonuses. The other thing they diid was pay affiliates to send them traffic. This is very lucrative for both parties. However, the fate of affiliates referring players to online gambling sites that accept players from the united states has taken a big hit since the last Black Friday entered the world.
For these affiliates referring US players only, Black Friday was a day that literally put them out of business. Those affiliates who were participating in revenue sharing programs in Europe, had no problem, but those who serviced the us market fell flat on their faces. While it is hopeful that the affiliates will find their feet once again, it will probably have to be by the us government changing their laws and legalizing online gambling. Such a law has already been proposed in Congress to legalize online poker. It has not passed yet and is not very far along, but it is a start.
With the emergence and popularity of online gambling sites over the last few years, many more people are playing online these days. Black Friday has forced them to find new places to play. Life has become so hectic these days and most gamblers still want to play online, so a good up to date affiliate portal can save you time finding new places to play. If you are from the united states find a portal that offers sites for us players. Remember they have done all the work finding the sites for you, so just pick one and go.
Remember, Black Friday hurt the industry, but it did not close it down. There is still many sites that cater to the us market. Of course, there is still a lot of reasons to play online. You can play from the safe and comfortable environment of your home. These sites are beneficial for those who dont care for traditional casinos and for people who wre not able to make the trip to the casino. Also, these sites offer more games and variety than brick and mortar casinos.
The online gaming sector hit the hardest from Black Friday was clearly the poker sector. The four biggest poker rooms got there domains seized and left the us market. This sent millions of poker players looking for new places to play. It also left millions of dollars of players funds in limbo. It also gave the affiliate portals a chance to rebound and get back into the thick of things. The portals who quickly offered new sites to these players and helped them with their seized funds has the best chance to survive.