Harry Reid - likes poker?
The man who may be tempted to introduce online poker into the USA maybe worried if he has seen the latest headlines in the world of online poker. More corruption, more laundering and more fraud and that’s the stuff that are visible (check out the latest news section for more stories).
There are always tales of collusion, fraud and nefarious going on’s flying around on Twitter, Facebook and other social mediums. Insinuation that certain tables are rigged and hole cards are being read seem to be the stock in trade everyday. It makes you wonder if any US government person would have the balls to legalise the wild frontier of online gambling?
What would be good if the online poker world could get their own house in order and show that online poker is a game of skill and that it is fair and free from corruption, but, as we all know with so many firms out there it would take the political genius of Machiavelli, allied to the nous of John Paul Getty, wrapped up with the determination of Napoleon and sugar coated with the patience of Mandela to get the various organisation to come up with a basic Memorandum of Understanding.
In the meantime the ‘great unwashed’ IE you and me will have to deposit hard earned cash in uncertain bank accounts which seem to make it easy to deposit money but extremely difficult to withdraw funds. Fair play to organisation who campaign to make poker legal in the centre of capitalism, but, it would be very helpful if said organisation took on a more al fresco regulatory role and call out bad practices on current online poker firms. Yes they may be told to mind their own business, but, in the end these organisation are seen as an appendix of the betting/online poker world and therefore far from impartial.
What is required is someone who is clever, knowledgeable about human frailties and has a long arm approach to online poker world, such as myself, should be given the role of overseeing such a body. This person could take all opinions and complaints – even the most vexatious ones possible and help the various poker firms to at least address issues that seem to be constantly made. Obviously such person will never get it right all the time and consequently the usual rumour and court cases will still be made, but, the industry will be seen to be on top of the problem.
In reality I do not think that the most capitalist of games will do such a thing because as Karl Marx stated capitalism is too short sighted. Too many people are making too much money too easily. At the moment they do not need to be under a strong regulatory regime which would be put in place if the leader of the capitalist world, the USofA, decided to legalise online poker. They do not need to indulge a live-wire, free thinking and individualistic poker nut – such as myself – having licence to ask difficult questions to high powered executives. So in the end a deeply religious country which leads a capitalistic economy, will not legalise a pure capitalistic situation where moral judgement would be offended.
It is not a question of freedom of speech which is the bench mark of freedom in that country, it is a question of getting unnecessary grief. Would you want to go into an election where the majority of the people are persuaded to throw their money away in a potentially unstable and greedy electronic process?
If online poker is serious about getting into the USA, it will need to address these issues and pray that the need for the USA to join the global online poker economy, as the father of one of the greatest games ever invented by man, will get it that this is the future and it is silly to deny their population the game of rogues and degenerates.