On today\’s episode of The Poker Beat, BJ and I lightly sparred about the significance of Party Gaming\’s $100+ million settlement with the US Department of Justice. I\’m pretty sure I beat him in everyone\’s mind but his own … but still, I also know I got a few things wrong that might unsettle the Insider, so it\’s good to know the Washington Post pretty much agrees with my take on the fluid situation:
Today\’s news sent online gambling stocks soaring overseas. That\’s because some financial analysts see the settlement as possibly leading to others, thus reducing uncertainty in the industry and opening the door to industry consolidation and expansion outside the U.S
Moreover, it\’s taken some hard work to educate the masses on our semi-complex issue, but it\’s good to see the message the (super-influential) non-poker media is putting out there:
… some legal scholars and Internet gambling proponents see the government crackdown as a disconnect between 21st-century technology and the 20th-century laws used to protect Americans from gambling.
The Justice position is considered controversial with some members of Congress and gaming analysts arguing it has steered U.S. players to unregulated offshore sites. \”The U.S. government has now succeeded in driving out the reputable publicly-traded Internet gaming operators,\” said Joseph M. Kelley, a professor of business law at the State College at Buffalo, who has also served as an expert witness for gaming and government interests. \”It has not decreased online gambling, but has reduced the ability to monitor suspicious transactions.\”
