New York Times examines Online Poker Issue
While some optimists predicted that the UIGEA would be lifted by now and people everywhere would be free to play poker as the please by the middle of 2009, this has not happened yet. In fact, there doesn’t seem to any major ground-breaking news on the issue as of late either which prompted the New York Times to examine the online poker situation even further.
In the feature written by Eric Pfanner, he goes into a historical recount of how online poker has not only affected poker, but companies worldwide as well. Before the UIGEA, companies that operated in the US allowed themselves to be regulated and were thus safer than the offshore ones operating now that answer to no one. Pfanner also pointed out how Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank tried to enact some legislation in 2007 that could overturn the UIGEA, but was crushed by the Republicans administration as well as the lobbyists from the NLF and Christian Coalition.
However, Pfanner points out that Frank’s legislation could have a much better chance this time around because there is a more open-minded administration under Barack Obama. Some believe that the UIGEA won’t last another 2 or 3 years at the longest. But there is still plenty of opposition coming from the NFL, Christian Coalition, and even people like Steve Wynn who disputes pro-online poker bills despite claiming the legislation is in his favor.
Personally, I think that people like Wynn and organizations like the NFL are only out for their own gain and that’s why they oppose online poker. Wynn wants to keep people coming to his live poker Meccas like the Bellagio and The Wynn while the NFL blames poker for loss of ticket sales and revenue. Hopefully, the whole UIGEA issue gets resolved pretty quickly so the online poker industry thrives once again.