SuperBook’s Blog

Back when the United States government passed the Unlawful Internet Gaming Act, there were profound ripples throughout the online gaming community. Many of us were worried about the ramifications and impact it would have on our daily lives. Would this be the end for our favorite pastimes? Would our favorite gaming sites pack their bags and close up shop, leaving us all high and dry? I know I sure had these worries as did countless of other online gamers. Being from NYC and a place where it has become increasingly difficult to find a live poker game, I feared that I would no longer be able to play online, which would have a big impact on my monthly earnings being that I post a profit every month. Surely, these feelings were felt by casual gamers as well as professional gamblers who make a significant amount of money online.

I am very pleased to report however that the industry has not gone away quietly into the night. Quite the contrary, the online companies have rolled with the punches and made several adjustments and are still thriving, providing services for all of us to enjoy. Some of the larger, more well established companies such as Sportingbet have taken steps to secure their spot in the world of gaming. Most recently, Sportingbet increased their shares to complete their purchase of Paradise Poker, one of the world’s most successful online poker sites.

Many of the online poker sites are staunchly keeping their operations running as well. Many of them share one online poker company’s stance that: The new legislation will not criminalize individuals for playing online poker. Instead, the bill will eventually attempt to prevent the transfer of funds to online gaming. As poker is a game of skill rather than of pure chance, we hope that it will not be affected by this new bill.” All of us who play the game know that this is the truth and we believe that this premise will help us in our cause and ultimately, the game will prove to be safe for all of us to continue playing.

>From the world of investments, stocks in online gaming companies are continuing to rise which is a telltale indication that those in the know, investment firms still see their value. Most notably, Sportingbet and other’s stocks have still maintained their upward swing.

All you have to do is simply turn on the TV and you’ll find numerous commercials of gaming companies advertising their sites. Many online poker and gambling companies are still thriving and aren’t afraid of running their ads. Also, perhaps even more telling is the fact that the cable companies are still running them. These are the most obvious signs of a thriving industry.

As long as the online gaming companies have the will to continue, we gamers have nothing to worry about. As we’ve said all along, we should be free and able to do what we want with our time and money. Our favorite online sites are going strong, stronger than ever, let’s stay strong with them.

We want to hear from you. How do you feel about this and how have these acts by Congress impacted your lives? Has it altered the way you operate or have you become even more determined to live your life as you see fit? Let’s get the dialogue going as alone we are weak but united, we are stronger.

I have argued in this space that banning online poker/gaming is not the best way the US could handle online gaming and that regulation of the industry is the answer. While much of my argument comes from my own belief that this is true, there is historical precedent for my argument. In the past, the US tried a similar tactic in trying to outlaw an activity that it felt was morally reprehensible. It was an activity that today is not only completely accepted by society, but it is also one of the largest industries in this country, alcohol.

Yes, alcohol. In any town in America, you see bars and liquor stores and beer distributorships all over the place. They are as commonplace as a McDonald’s or Starbucks. You can’t even watch 30 minutes of television without seeing multiple beer commercials for countless products that are available in just about any supermarket in the country. It wasn’t always this way. Let’s go back in time, shall we?

During the Great Depression, the US passed the 18th Amendment, known as the Prohibition Amendment. This amendment made the making, selling, possessing, and consuming of alcoholic drinks illegal. Seems pretty radical doesn’t it? In fact, as we remember this time in our history, it seems downright inconceivable that this took place, but it did. So, did it work? Did people actually stop all activities as it related to drinking? The answer, simply put, is of course not! Instead of being sold on the open market, all things related to alcohol went underground and crime grew exponentially. Bars and public meeting places were replaced by speakeasies and other underground drinking establishments and bootlegging, the illegal production of alcohol was rampant.
Because of Prohibition, organized crime increased, especially in all major cities and gangsters and the true villains of societies fought for control of the liquor establishments and other illegal activities.

Basically, in a nutshell, our government, instead of regulating the alcohol industry, tried to wipe it out completely, and as a result, more crime than originally existed grew out of it. The very thing the government was trying to avoid is what ending up happening. So what happened? How did it become an accepted form of society again? Very simply, the United States finally came to its senses and realized that the way to drive out the criminal element was to legalize alcohol and establishments and to tax and regulate the industry.

So you might be asking, “why are you telling me this? Well, my 11th grade history professor once told us, “those who fail to learn about the past are doomed to repeat it. This brings us to the present day. What happened during the prohibition era sounds eerily similar to what is happening now with the online gaming ban. For years, the New York underground poker scene has been besieged by the threat of not only police raids but by what would happen if armed bandits busted up the game. Who would they turn to for help? The police who would shut everything down anyway? You see the problem intolerance is causing? It directly leads to fear and not being able to protect yourselves. Just as many New York rounders have fought for real life regulation, such is the plight of online gamers. All we want is to be treated fairly, not like the criminal element that the US actions have opened us up to.

Thank goodness we still have some trusted sites we can turn to for some fun and action. Without them, we would truly be stuck. As I’ve said in the past, continue to play at your favorite gaming sites. Don’t change the way you operate as one day we will all find vindication down the road.

We want to hear from you. How do you feel about this and how have these acts by Congress impacted your lives? Has it altered the way you operate or have you become even more determined to live your life as you see fit? Let’s get the dialogue going as alone we are weak but united, we are stronger.

On Halloween, there was quite an international event where over 30 countries came together to the UK to discuss how to regulate the online gaming industry. Note that the keyword is “regulate , not “prohibit or “ban . This likely explains why the US was not among those in attendance as for all who are subject to US laws knows that most times, it’s an all or nothing proposition. What does the fact that this convention took place tell us? Quite simply, now it confirms something we suspected. We all know that countless countries are actively exploring regulation while the US has taken the archaic stance of banning online gaming altogether. Numerous countries are working toward compromise while the US is not even willing to sit at the bargaining table.

What was the point of the conference you may ask? Well, the countries in attendance did so to figure out a best way to protect proponents of online gaming, the customers and the companies themselves. Doing so will keep things fair and safe for everyone involved. The Gambling Commission’s job will be to protect online gambling customers, while the job of taxing the online sites will fall to the UK Treasury. See, it all makes sense and will all be done orderly. Why can’t the US open its collective mind to something so sensical.

This meeting does have some historical roots. Back in 2005, the UK established the Gambling Act of 2005 which created rules to regulate all forms of gambling in the UK. The goal was to keep gambling crime-free and protect all parties involved. The US ban supposedly was created to accomplish the same thing but if you really think about it, it can easily lead to the opposite. By making it illegal, you are now opening up avenues for underground illegal activity to occur. Whereas the UK plan was to keep everything public and out in the open to prevent the inevitable underground illegal activity.

The irony about this is pretty plain and simple. For centuries, the US has been known as a free country and the land of the free. Meanwhile, this is true conceptually but in everyday life, you see quite the contrary. We pride ourselves n the freedom of speech but you see it challenged time and time again as many people are outed for voicing their opinions and beliefs. So when these very basic principles of society are called into question and openly challenged, of course you have to believe that indeed nothing is sacred and that it would only be a matter of time before things like online gaming come under fire.

But I must say, it’s reassuring to say the least to know that we online gamers are not alone in our beliefs. We believe that we are being treated unfairly in our own backyard and from what we see in the world around us through conventions and dialogue of this nature, we are justified in thinking and feeling this way. In so many other countries, we see concessions being made and compromises being worked towards. By seeing these things, it should strengthen our resolve and belief that we are not only not doing anything wrong, but it is only a matter of time before we achieve full vindication.

On our own soil, voters made it quite clear on election day that we have grown tired and weary of closed minded agendas as the results pushed out several anti-online gaming advocates and proponents of the archaic anti-gaming legislation. This is the clearest indication that our representatives are listening to us. It’s time to be proactive. We have great supporters on Capitol Hill, and we need to contact them, offer our support, and continue to make our voices heard. Stay strong everyone. Keep living your lives the way you see fit and enjoy the things you love doing.

We want to hear from you. How do you feel about this and how have these acts by Congress impacted your lives? Has it altered the way you operate or have you become even more determined to live your life as you see fit? Let’s get the dialogue going as alone we are weak but united, we are stronger.