The proposal which is “A proposal to boost America’s economy by means of Online Poker” ranked first among technology issues and 11th overall in the White House Citizen's Briefing Book, a compilation book of recommendations made to Obama. At the start of Obama's presidency, citizens were asked to submit policy proposals through the Website www.Change.gov. The online poker proposal received almost 47,000 points, a result that won praise from pro-poker campaigners. Now poker players around the country are speaking with one voice to protect the game they love, and the White House is hearing that message. A spokesman for the poker playing community said, “We hope the Administration hears and acts upon the clear message sent via the Citizen's Briefing Book - keep online poker legal through thoughtful regulation.” He added that the Poker community was ready to work with Obama and Congress to ensure the will of the people is acted upon. The proposal which was submitted by online poker player Aaron Huertas of Washington, DC, called for American online poker players to be allowed to “play legally and without fear of prosecution.” “Reform the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act so as to exempt poker, a game of skill, from the law,” it read. “Boost the economy by letting American companies and American players make money and pay taxes instead of sending online poker businesses offshore.” All this is true and the current recession may change the US government’s thinking. Online gambling has developed into a huge industry with staggering turnover figures. In these tough times there had been a fall-off in turnover but it is still huge. Why not simply legalize the gambling, remove the fear of the players and tax the online casinos? In many ways this makes sense and will be a positive step as far as fuelling the economy is concerned and will remove the ongoing arguments about the rights and wrongs of online gambling. Online gambling will never be entirely eliminated – the more it becomes illegal the deeper underground and further offshore it goes. This is a great opportunity to correct the issue. Posted on: May 30, 2009
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