Online poker players face new Prohibition
Justin Berton, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Inside the quiet San Francisco headquarters of the Poker Players Alliance, a political group that boasts 100,000 members, a laminated poster hangs above the desk of executive director Michael Bolcerek that reads, "The Threat is Real."
In this case, the immediate threat to Bolcerek and his poker-playing army is the growing anti-gambling forces that argue the game is bad for American family values and want to remove it from the Internet. Despite online poker's rabid popularity -- the game now draws an estimated 23 million Americans to their keyboards every day -- it has recently suffered some big-time legislative hits.
In June, citing concerns about underage gambling and illegal wagers, the Washington state Legislature banned online gambling, including poker, making it the first state to effectively shut down virtual card rooms.
...continued here - http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Online-poker-players-face-new-Prohibition-2490437.php
Justin Berton, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Inside the quiet San Francisco headquarters of the Poker Players Alliance, a political group that boasts 100,000 members, a laminated poster hangs above the desk of executive director Michael Bolcerek that reads, "The Threat is Real."
In this case, the immediate threat to Bolcerek and his poker-playing army is the growing anti-gambling forces that argue the game is bad for American family values and want to remove it from the Internet. Despite online poker's rabid popularity -- the game now draws an estimated 23 million Americans to their keyboards every day -- it has recently suffered some big-time legislative hits.
In June, citing concerns about underage gambling and illegal wagers, the Washington state Legislature banned online gambling, including poker, making it the first state to effectively shut down virtual card rooms.
...continued here - http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Online-poker-players-face-new-Prohibition-2490437.php