They Made Me a Criminal

[rrbauer]

Required Reading!

http://www.cappersmall.com/sportscenter/Industry-News/They-Made-Me-a-Criminal.html

[njcurveball]

Excellent post!

When they figure this out, they may even stop with the Mickey Mouse $600 tax law where you can actually bet MORE than you win on a SINGLE ticket and STILL pay taxes!

Of course, the same lawmakers who say this law cannot be changed quickly, somehow slammed the door shot on the Protagonist in the article mentioned.

[rrbauer]

Excellent post!

When they figure this out, they may even stop with the Mickey Mouse $600 tax law where you can actually bet MORE than you win on a SINGLE ticket and STILL pay taxes!

Of course, the same lawmakers who say this law cannot be changed quickly, somehow slammed the door shot on the Protagonist in the article mentioned.

What I understand is that they added the "Illegal to bet on the Internet" provision about 6 hours before the vote and literally nobody had a chance to read it.....is that called a preemptive strike?

[PaceAdvantage]

Maybe I'm not understanding something quite fundamental to this argument made by those who are outraged that they can no longer easily wager over the Internet at overseas betting establishments.

Would it be technically illegal for you to wager with "Louie" the bookie down the street? Never mind the claim that nobody has ever been convicted of making an illegal bet. I'm asking if it is illegal for someone to wager on a sporting event (or anything else for that matter) with "Louie" the bookie "down the street."

I believe the answer is yes...it is illegal for you to place a bet with "Louie" the bookie, as it is with any unlicensed bookie or betting shop. In the US, it is illegal to place a sports bet anywhere but Las Vegas, is this not true?

Never mind that, supposedly, nobody has ever been arrested for placing a bet.

I'm asking, is it legal? If it's not legal, which I believe it is not, then how can it be legal to place an illegal bet over the Internet?

[cj]

I don't think anyone is really questioning the legality of betting with offshore books over the internet. We all know it isn't really legal. It never was.

What is being questioned is the total hypocrisy of our elected officials. I won't even go into all the reasons the lottery is one of the single biggest scams in history. If the government is truly looking out for us, the lottery would be the first thing to go.

[PaceAdvantage]

I don't think anyone is really questioning the legality of betting with offshore books over the internet. We all know it isn't really legal. It never was.

What is being questioned is the total hypocrisy of our elected officials.

Oh, I'm all for that. Pointing out hypocrisy is a hobby of mine as well! LOL

I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything obvious to this argument.

Essentially, what this is boiling down to (forget hypocrisy for a moment), is that people are pissed off that something is being taken away, which they shouldn't have had access to in the first place, correct?

In the old days, when your bookie got busted, what did you do? This is a similar situation, is it not?

[chickenhead]

important to remember that we rely on that hypocrisy! If you really think of it, why exactly is it that gambling on horseracing is legal? That god it is the sport of kings (rich breeders and horseowners), and easy to tax. But it's not like it is logical for horseracing to be legal, it has been grandfathered in, thankfully. There is no possible chance it could be created anew today.

[cj]

Oh, I'm all for that. Pointing out hypocrisy is a hobby of mine as well! LOL

I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything obvious to this argument.

Essentially, what this is boiling down to (forget hypocrisy for a moment), is that people are pissed off that something is being taken away, which they shouldn't have had access to in the first place, correct?

In the old days, when your bookie got busted, what did you do? This is a similar situation, is it not?

There are ways around everything. It isn't being taken away, just harder to get (for now).

[classhandicapper]

In the old days, when your bookie got busted, what did you do? This is a similar situation, is it not?

Got a new bookie. ;)

It's not really the same because they are making it close to impossible to fund and withdraw money with any degree of confidence that you can actually get your money. Neteller is currently a disaster area for millions of poker, horse, and sports bettors.

Plus, as we all agree, the whole thing is total BS because they push lotteries on people that are in the worst position of anyone to cope with gambling losses.

Furthermore, we are one of the few backwards nations doing this. It's not like this is some kind of universally accepted trend. The rest of the world is slowly embracing online gambling.

[Dave Schwartz]

If you really think of it, why exactly is it that gambling on horseracing is legal?

Because it would put people out of work and politicians try to avoid that. (Imagine the impact in Kentucky if horse racing takes a hard hit.)


Stopping online poker has no tax or employment-based negatives. In fact, it is all positive (from their point of view) as it makes gamblers find new avenues to gamble that will (likely) create taxes and (perhaps) stimulate jobs. (i.e. casinos, slots, etc.)


Dave Schwartz

[classhandicapper]

Because it would put people out of work and politicians try to avoid that. (Imagine the impact in Kentucky if horse racing takes a hard hit.)


Stopping online poker has no tax or employment-based negatives. In fact, it is all positive (from their point of view) as it makes gamblers find new avenues to gamble that will (likely) create taxes and (perhaps) stimulate jobs. (i.e. casinos, slots, etc.)


Dave Schwartz

I agree with your first comment, but the second is not really true. The Poker Player's Alliance and all the professionals that went to Washington to lobby have been begging lawmakers to make poker legal or give it an exemption like lotteries and horses, then regulate it and tax it. It's not going away. People are already talking about foreign bank accounts, packing their bags and heading to Canada, etc... So WTF are they thinking?

[rrbauer]

Oh, I'm all for that. Pointing out hypocrisy is a hobby of mine as well! LOL

I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything obvious to this argument.

Essentially, what this is boiling down to (forget hypocrisy for a moment), is that people are pissed off that something is being taken away, which they shouldn't have had access to in the first place, correct?

In the old days, when your bookie got busted, what did you do? This is a similar situation, is it not?

Why was it illegal in the first place? If I'm in a foreign country and can place a bet there as a U. S. Citizen then why can't I place the same bet from here?
And, if you quote the Wire Act as the basis for legal/illegal then every bet we place via the Internet with the "legal" account wagering firms is also illegal according to the U. S. Justice Dept. So how much more "illegal" is one versus the other?

[44PACE]

Maybe I'm not understanding something quite fundamental to this argument made by those who are outraged that they can no longer easily wager over the Internet at overseas betting establishments.

Would it be technically illegal for you to wager with "Louie" the bookie down the street? Never mind the claim that nobody has ever been convicted of making an illegal bet. I'm asking if it is illegal for someone to wager on a sporting event (or anything else for that matter) with "Louie" the bookie "down the street."

I believe the answer is yes...it is illegal for you to place a bet with "Louie" the bookie, as it is with any unlicensed bookie or betting shop. In the US, it is illegal to place a sports bet anywhere but Las Vegas, is this not true?

Never mind that, supposedly, nobody has ever been arrested for placing a bet.

I'm asking, is it legal? If it's not legal, which I believe it is not, then how can it be legal to place an illegal bet over the Internet?



If you are a politician it is legal for them to do all the above, for the rest of us the answer is no.

[Valuist]

Since Pinnacle shut down, I haven't placed one sports wager and have no plan to ever do so w/a bookie. Once you get used to the -104 lines, there's no way one could go back to the -110 crap locals use. Just wrecks your margins.