Some interesting developments have been occurring in the US poker market. As it seems, apparently one of the Big Two is being investigated for allowing underage players to play on its site. The legal age to gamble on US soil is 21, but to have a credit or debit card, the law says only 18. This can lead to a discrepancy in the three year age gap between being legally an adult and being legal to gamble.
Apparently there have been some FBI investigations of some players who play on the site. They’ve been told they will not be prosecuted. The players who were approached reside in Washington State, where gambling illegally is a felony charge.
Seeing as the UIGEA will go into effect in June of 2010, the FBI apparently sees this apple ripe for picking prior to any prosecution. The trick here, seeing as all those approached and interrogated live in WA state, is that in the event that they don’t come to court to testify against the poker site, they themselves could be held liable for the crime. Essentially the FBI could threaten them with suit if they don’t cooperate.
What the Bureau is looking into is the payment methods used by the site. They are question the legality of such transactions.
My opinion on the matter is quite simple. Undo the UIGEA, let the poker online players play, and regulate the game in the US. With that you kill two birds with one stone. You don’t have a bureau investigating a minor crime that is only a technicality, and the US sees tax revenue from the sites. Looks like a Win-Win in my book. But all the US citizens know that anything moving at the speed of congress is the same as watching two snails race.











