The debate of the legality of online poker and online gambling in the U.S. has been fierce and the question is how the 1961 Wire act shall be interpreted. The old law makes it illegal to place to place bets over a telegraph wire, but this was long before the Internet. Neither online poker nor online casino gambling has ever been condemned as illegal in a court of law in the U.S. Americans can still enjoy a game of online poker without breaking the law, and the new law does not change that. Unfortunately some poker rooms have decided to temporarily suspend Americans from playing, but I am sure that this will change once the worst commotion has settled down.
Category Archives: Gambling and Sports Betting
Gov. Eliot Spitzer, whose rise to political power as a fierce enforcer of ethics in public life was undone by revelations of his own involvement with prostitutes, resigned on Wednesday, becoming the first New York governor to leave office amid scandal in nearly a century.
The resignation will be effective on Monday at noon. Lt. Gov. David A. Paterson, a state legislator for 22 years and the heir to a Harlem political dynasty, will be sworn in as New York’s 55th governor, making him the state’s first black chief executive. Read More »
On Aug. 2, online sports gamblers wagered $7 million on a tennis match in Poland. Stunningly, the money favored 87th-ranked Martin Vassallo Argüello, even after the Argentine lost the first set. Suspicious that the fix was in, the Internet gambling site Betfair voided the bets and alerted the Association of Tennis Professionals. Those reservations seemed justified when top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko quit in the third set, citing an ailing toe. In the wake of that fishy match, multiple tennis players have admitted they’ve been asked to fix results. Along with exposing the seamy side of pro tennis, the scandal has also spotlighted the site that handled the action. Most Americans probably haven’t heard of Betfair, but it’s the biggest thing going in global gambling.
Betfair, which opened for business in 2000, is best described as day trading for sports bettors. Using Web-based accounts, anonymous users can set their own odds or bid on odds offered by other players. Online “betting exchanges”—there are dozens, but Betfair is the kingpin, with a 90 percent market share—eliminate the role of odds-setting middlemen like local bookies and Las Vegas sports books. Instead of wagering on take-it-or-leave-it odds set by the house, gamblers are free to choose among many different price points, striking bets for as little as $1 up to hundreds of thousands.
Now imagine betting on sports or playing casino games from your cellphone. No longer are you restrained to sitting in front of the computer you can play games or place wagers on the sport game you’re watching at the bar.
