Joined: Mar '09
Location: Greece
Age: 47 (F)
Posts: 14136
Burkhard Balz (Germany)'s, an european vice-agent, proposal sustained by Jean-Paul(France) and Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT(Sweden) according to ban the online gambling activity across Europe was voted. According to the statement of Burkhard Balz who sustains that "these activities are destroying the value and properly instruments of money laundering", the European Council adopted today a law that prohibits online gambling in Europe.
Yes, this song is playing since few months. We all are scared but this kind of news but, we are really confident that online gambling involves such amount of money that politicians should think about it better before forbiding it.
Joined: Feb '10
Location: Suriname
Age: 47 (M)
Posts: 1189
I think it will not pass parliament this voting bill, because many poker players make a living by playing online poker. So It will not succeed them to pass this awful bill.
Joined: May '09
Location: Croatia
Age: 39 (M)
Posts: 20405
well it would be big difference if they mean on european union or whole europe?I think that they only could forbid for EU,beacuse lots of countries are not in EU (like whole balkan and more of countries) and laws are not same,so how they can do something when every country which is not part of EU,have own laws!but this old idiots dont know what to do anymore and now poker and other online games is big problem from them,yeah right
Joined: Feb '11
Location: Canada
Age: 39 (M)
Posts: 1660
Does the European Union have the ability to dictate to it's idividual members? I'm from Canada and know admittedly nothing about European politics, but isn't the EU outlawing gambling the same as if the UN did. They recommend it but idividual countries have to make their own call. Like Kyoto for example, UN said yes, some of us joined, others said no (USA most notably).
There's been a global push for some time to abolish gambling online. The problem is that poker is a completly unique game and does not get it's fair due. Anyone who understands poker would realize that there is alot of skill involved and the "gamble" in poker is really a small piece of it's puzzle. It's been deemed a game of skill by the olympic association so what's the problem?........most politicians have no concept of what poker is. Just think of all the other things they've prohibited/ banned/restricted and regulated using the same broad general legislation because they do not really know what it is.
Here in Spain I've heard that some online pro players are asking for living in South America (Argentina is the most frequent) because here in Spain laws are becoming a nightmare. I hope this situation doesn't grow up.
Joined: Feb '11
Location: Canada
Age: 57 (M)
Posts: 753
Canada seems to be the only country with brains. Our governments don't want to ban it. They are already coming up with their own poker sites. Been in the works for a short time now, will be out sometime this year I expect. Our government see's that there is to be made here. It's really too bad that other countries can't seem to see the potential. The United States is a clear example, the federal government there takes almost 50% of all gambling winning from the winners. If you win $1 000 000, they get almost half. So I really fail to see why even they would want to ban it. In a time where they owe over 1 trillion dollars, it would sure help their war machine take over other countries who have oil. Not smart politics at all... Oh yeah and our government takes 0% on gambling winnings. That's right folks, we pay NO TAXES on lotteries and gambling...
Joined: Oct '09
Location: Lithuania
Age: 43 (M)
Posts: 2805
so they ll do it in future i think nothing can stop them from that all the europe countrys one to do that and they want very fast do it sad but we must enjoy now becouse in future we maybe was blocked and never have chanses to play again good luck and never loose your hope
Joined: Feb '11
Location: Philippines
Age: 43 (M)
Posts: 228
Posted by psycokiller: There's been a global push for some time to abolish gambling online. The problem is that poker is a completly unique game and does not get it's fair due. Anyone who understands poker would realize that there is alot of skill involved and the "gamble" in poker is really a small piece of it's puzzle. It's been deemed a game of skill by the olympic association so what's the problem?........most politicians have no concept of what poker is. Just think of all the other things they've prohibited/ banned/restricted and regulated using the same broad general legislation because they do not really know what it is.
it's not the game that they're against...it's the use of online gambling in general as a way to launder money..money that can fund criminal organizations and acts of terrorism. the problem here is that it is difficult to monitor every transaction made in online gambling sites. so instead of trying to catch every criminal using online gambling as a way to transfer money, what they're pushing for is the shutdown of the industry to close this channel for criminals.
Joined: Oct '09
Location: Spain
Age: 60 (M)
Posts: 2851
Money laundering via the online Gambling is a real issue, and I support that part of it.
The problem for most of us is that we realise that Poker is a different thing entirely from Casino Gambling games (online or live). You are playing the player with odds you can turn in your favour. all other "gambling" games are a loss from the start statistically for the players.
The problem for many countries is that they also cannot monitor the online Poker sites, and thus have no control over the taxation of it. That´s why the Lotteries fall out of this whole issue.
And that really sucks for those of us who play the game. I hope it doesn,´t come that far in the next couple of years.
I also understand it will remain a national issue in terms of abolishing or not, but I may be wrong on that. Anybody know?
Joined: May '09
Location: India
Age: 37 (M)
Posts: 4873
i wish governments would stop coming with these stupid laws, its hard enough already to win money at poker. they can tax it if they want but only highstakes pros and leave us micro grinders alone.
Joined: Dec '08
Location: Netherlands
Age: 42 (M)
Posts: 579
I think poker is a game of skill and feeling to when its live...but in online poker not only the moneylaundering is the issieu...everybody who has played enough online poker knows its not a random game...their are so many ways 2 cheat and steal money in online poker by pokersites that you almost must be stupid to think its totaly fair and random.Even with a totaly random RNG they can still cheat in many different ways.Its software not real just as online casino's, they all claim to be controled by all sort of independent company's....every casino and poker site says this ...so they al telling the truth ?? ...software people not real
Joined: Nov '10
Location: Serbia
Age: 37 (M)
Posts: 2087
Posted by remco2504: I think poker is a game of skill and feeling to when its live...but in online poker not only the moneylaundering is the issieu...everybody who has played enough online poker knows its not a random game...their are so many ways 2 cheat and steal money in online poker by pokersites that you almost must be stupid to think its totaly fair and random.Even with a totaly random RNG they can still cheat in many different ways.Its software not real just as online casino's, they all claim to be controled by all sort of independent company's....every casino and poker site says this ...so they al telling the truth ?? ...software people not real
Just watch any televised poker game and you will see how many bad beats and suck outs you will see... Count number of hands in Poker after dark episode and number of bad beats...
