Make no mistakes. On line gamling is illegal in the United Staes

Sent by Michael Brazil | 3:16 PM ET | 08-27-2007

I don't understand the justification for making an activity illegal online, that otherwise would be legal.

I live in California, about an hour outside of Reno Nevada. where it is legal to play poker, albeit regulated.

The problem I face is availability, there are not many casinos near where I live. I must generally drive about the hour to Reno, or about the same distance to an Indian casino, to play face to face.

Online gambling seems to be a perfectly good alternative, but for some reason my government doesn't want to let me. I don't know when it happened that I needed government permission in the first place. There must not be anything wrong with poker itself, otherwise it would be illegal outright.

Sent by Jason Thorn | 3:46 PM ET | 08-27-2007

Hello, I am executive director of an organization fighting for the regulation on Internet poker in the United States, www.pokerplayersalliance.org.

First, it needs to be made clear that it is not illegal for an individual to play poker on the Internet. The U.S. has, with the passage of legislation last year, attempted to deputized financial institutions to prevent their customers from funding offshore accounts, they have not made it illegal to play. Never-the-less, it is an unfounded intrusion into the personal lives of millions of law-abiding adult Americans who enjoy playing poker responsibly on the Internet.

If the government truly wants to combat the perceived ills of Internet gambling, then regulation is the best course of action. Some in Congress recognize this point and are pushing for legislation that would license and regulate Internet gaming Web sites and require that they employ age verification technologies, services for problem gamblers and programs to combat fraud and money laundering. Moreover, appropriate regulation could lead to a significant tax windfall (in the billions of dollars annually) for the federal government!

The Poker Players Alliance applauds common sense efforts to regulate this industry. Poker has evolved in the 21st century, now is the time for our government abandon 20th century style prohibitions.

Sent by John A. Pappas | 5:30 PM ET | 08-27-2007

Online "Gambling" is NOT, I REPEAT NOT, illegal EVERYWHERE in the U.S. - Federal Law only prohibits betting on sporting events over the internet according to the 5th Circuit US Court of Appeals. The recently passed Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act explicitly stated that it did not make any gambling illegal that was not illegal before the act was passed. Only 3 states have laws the specifically make gambling online illegal (Louisiana, Washington and Illinois) - all other states have a mix of gambling laws, some which may apply to the internet, most of which clearly do not. And what is gambling? Is Poker gambling? Not according to the courts in California, where poker has been held to be a game of skill. Not in New Hampshire, where "gambling" is defined as wagering on a future event over which the person has no control or influence. Only a foolish player believes they have no influence over the outcome of a poker game.

The law in this area is so grey that all the fog horns in the world cannot cut through it. While a story about online gambling is an interesting story, your superficial treatment of the legal situation was not up to NPR standards.

Sent by Skallagrim | 5:51 PM ET | 08-27-2007