 OK, we all know that the United States government made some trade deals with the Europeans and Antigua-Barbuda and several other countries, in order to enforce the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act. Now it seems some taxpayers would like to know exactly the terms of those trade deals. Seems simply enough, right?
So, it seems freelance writer Ed Brayton filed a Freedom of Information Act request to get the financial details of these trade agreements. The United States Trade Representative responded by telling Brayton that the information he requested was classified because of national security.
"Be advised that the document you seek is being withheld in full pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(1), which pertains to information that is properly classified in the interest of national security pursuant to Executive Order 12958."
Brayton writes on his blog,
"Americans, according to this administration, have no right to know how many billions of our tax dollars they've spent with no legislative authorization whatsoever in order to buy the cooperation of other nations and allow them to continue to violate the rights of American adults by preventing them from gambling in the privacy of their own home."
I really want to say something witty or mean and perhaps even sound disgusted but this is just too stupid for words. The only thing that really scares me is that there probably are some Washington officials who really believe that poker is a national security issue; that and we pay these people's salaries to be this incredibly stupid in public.
And finally for U.S. voters, some actual political poker humor.
 This week the United Kingdom and the United States have escalated their previously simmering war over online poker.
The UK has the 2005 Gambling Act that regulates where companies must be in order to do business in the UK. These are the famous "White Zones". Well now the UK regulators have decided that it is illegal to offer online qualifiers for live tournaments unless the live tournament is also held in a venue that resides inside of the white zones.
The U.K. Gambling Commission issued an advisory on Friday that says gambling companies that offer seats to foreign tournaments are violating the 'current advertising rules set out in the Gambling Act 2005'.
"It has come to the Commission's attention that a number of operators are offering places at overseas poker tournaments as prizes in U.K.-based competitions."
Several UK regulated online poker sites and even some of the live casinos in the United Kingdom have been offering seats in a cash-prize tournament hosted outside the United Kingdom as prizes in their events. The offering of such prize in a regulated tournament amounts to 'advertising of non-U.K. gambling, as defined by section 327 of the Gambling Act 2005'.
"Unless the overseas tournament is based in the European Economic Area, Gibraltar, or in white-listed jurisdictions, the advert is likely to amount to the advertising of 'foreign gambling,' which constitutes an offence under Section 331 of the Gambling Act 2005."
When translated into a language that can be understood on both sides of the pond:
"The World Series of Poker takes place in Las Vegas and Las Vegas is definitely not white! Nor are Macau, Sydney or Melbourne."
Leave it to the US trade negotiators to pull a stunt even more brazen. The US has agreed to give up billions of trade dollars to keep all EU gaming sites out of the US market. So the war is on and the citizens on both sides will pay for the conflict in higher taxes and less access to leisure cyber activities because the politicians are more interested in legislating conduct than serving their constituents.
 Several poker sites in the EU and around the world have commenting recently about the lack of US poker players on international websites. Since the UIGEA passed the US Congress over a year ago the number of poker players in the United States with access to international online poker sites has dropped and continues to fall.
The fact is that the US market still makes up a large majority of players but that number is dropping while numbers in our countries continue to rise. While it would seem a balance has been reached with players in and out of the market. The non-US sites note that players from the United States tend to have more disposable income to invest in the game and they have more consistent access to the internet.
The regulations to stop poker deposits from being made are currently being semi-enforced in the US makes the market going forward unclear. If these regulations are legislatively sustained and poker players in the US find it more difficult to make deposits, such problems will affect poker player's bankrolls worldwide. The global pool of poker dollars has been diminished by the US Federal Laws and do not seem to be recovering with new sources in other countries.
Indeed some localities are pressing laws similar to those proposed in the United States. If you live in any country or provence considering such restrictive legislation; learn this lesson from the US poker players: Speak up early and continue to make your displeasure with any poker restrictive legislation. It is easier to stop a law then it is to change it once it gets on the record.
 It makes sense that you don't advertise a product in a market where you cannot sell the product. But if you live in single restricted market you might never even know that another, perhaps better, product exists.
Due to various governmental interventions the ability to play online poker is restricted in many countries. The United States, of course, has had the UIGEA law for over a year. France continues to limited access to its internet public, as does Turkey, Sweden and several other EU countries. The UK has some bizarre advertising regulations based on where you put your servers and there are the still unclear but heavily controlled or banned practices in China, India, Indonesia and the rest of the Far East. Governments in South America and Africa are each devising more or less restrictive regulations to control how citizens there will access the "free" internet.
So if you live in one of these restricted locations (and you do!) not only are you prevented from playing poker on some of your favorite sites, you will not even know that many new poker sites are appearing everyday. Contrary to the common perception in heavily regulated areas, the choices for online poker are increasing worldwide not decreasing.
 Well it appears the poker players in the United States have finally won one. The Internal Revenue Service is backing off a recent ruling to have casinos and cardrooms withhold a whopping 25% of tournament poker winnings over $5,000. The original ruling had come in the form of a Revenue Procedure, which is the lowest form of IRS regulation.
Apparently the definitive argument came down to something like:
"There are already enough tax laws on the books to handle this situation."
We can only hope that the real message is:
"Lay the hell off the poker players."
According to tax attorneys, the IRS 2007-57 Revenue Procedure will remain on the notification roll but will not be promulgated in the next set of IRS procedural rulings. A replacement ruling may be in place prior to March 2008.
With all of the governmentally debate about regulating both online and live poker around the world. I have been collecting some notable and infamous quotes from elected officials.
"I spend a lot of time protecting the people from the perpetrators of fraud, polluters of the air, and other types of ant-social behavior. I have no energy left to protect people from themselves."
US Congressman
"We must find a way to levy a tax on internet gambling. It's our job, I couldn't care less about regulating how they gamble."
UK Minister
"The government will decide what is and is not legal and acceptable to the French Republic."
French News Reporter quoting high ranking Commerce Official
"The principle is fallacious that if something is abused by some or might be abused by others, you should ban it for everyone."
US Congressman
"Why exactly is horseracing or the National Lottery more moral than blackjack or poker? This is not a rhetorical question; is there a legal reason why we have exemptions in this law?"
US Congresswoman
 Ever heard someone talking about a topic in a way that was completely different than the way you saw it. I mean not just 100% opposite of you but in another world completely. Well that is exactly my response when I read this article from New South Wales.
Sydney, Australia - New South Wales will be the first state in Australia to introduce cashless poker machines which will force gamblers to leave their machines to collect winnings. The winnings will be dispensed in the form a ticket which can be redeemed from a booth.
Chairman of Clubs New South Wales, Peter Newell says the new system will force gamblers to take a break and, while not a cure for problem gambling, is a step in the right direction.
"I don't think anybody's portraying it as the panacea to the issue, but it's there."
However Sydney University's head of psychology Alex Blaszczynski said the machines will not prevent problem gambling.
"Problem gamblers will always spend their money to the last cent."
At first I thought this had to be an article written by some staff reporter who knew nothing about gambling or video poker. Why on earth would anyone think that coinless machines were anything but a way for the casinos to streamline and modernize the gaming process. Automation means less employees are needed to redeem coins and pay jackpots. The introduction of coinless machines has nothing, repeat NOTHING! to do with problem gambling.
However, some checking showed that the "problem gambling" argument was used before the various gaming control boards in Australia and several other countries to get the cash-less video poker machines approved.
Strange logic indeed, almost upside down in fact.
 What do you get when you add the UIGEA to the United States "War on Terrorism"? Well one strange twist is that it is more difficult for international players to come to the USA to play in poker tournaments. More and more we hear about players being hassled at US custom entry ports. Long ago most major players stopped carrying their poker bankrolls with them when the entered the US. This after several were hassled and then had their cash conficated by US Customs.
But wait you say, the US government is only protecting itself and its citizens from a known terrorist threat. Hmmm, interesting that in parts of the world where terrorism is an everyday fact of life, travelers are treated better than they are in the States. Here is a great article on the US War on Tourists. No poker players here just normal folks visiting the USA and being hassled and treated rudely by US Customs employees.
Daniel Negreanu had an incident in January 2006 coming back to the US from the Carribbean. He was detained even when over a dozen passengers on the flight identified him. Two noted non-US players, who spoke to me on this topic only if I swore not to use their names (Land of the Free remember); they told me that many European Pros have figured out the most hassle free airports of entry into the States and no matter where the poker tournament is, they fly into that city and then on to their actual destination.
From personal experience I can tell you that if you intend to travel with any electrical gear that is not recognizable to a 10 year old then you should carry the product literature with you or risk losing your property to a custom's agent who doesn't understand electricty and silicon chips. I actually have the page number in the US Customs guide memorized for an item I carry that even though it is on the approved list, I have been questioned about it over a dozen times and once had to explain to the security agents that yes they did indeed have a book with approved electronic equipment.
Bottomline for Foreign Poker Players--The European Poker Tour has really got some nice payouts and travel between countries in Europe is easier than traveling between States in the US but if you are coming to the WSOP this summer in Las Vegas, don't fly through Los Angeles.
 The first Japanese Poker Tournament is set for June. Finally, Japan will have its own poker tournament. The All-Japan Poker Championship Committee has announced the first annual All-Japan Poker Championship (AJPC).
The no-limit Texas hold’em event will take place June 2 and 3 in Tokyo, Japan. The winner of the AJPC will receive an entry into the 2007 World Series of Poker, as well as travel expenses to and accommodations in Las Vegas. A portion of the sponsorship funds will be donated to charity.
 The Dusk Till Dawn poker club is about to open in the U.K. in Nottingham to be specific. With £4 million already spent building Europe's biggest poker club (46 tables) and another £3m plunged into a 15-year lease, entrepreneur and club owner Robert Yong believes:
"We will be making Nottingham one of the world's biggest poker centres."
With poker professional Dave Colclough as the club's ambassador and over 3,600 club members before even opening the doors, it would seem they are well on their way. Dusk Til Dawn should open by mid-summer.
 The World Poker Tour and Grup Peralada, the largest casino group in Spain, have announced an agreement to bring the first ever WPT stop in Spain to the Casino Barcelona. The event has been added to the Tour line-up in October 2007.
Steve Lipscomb, President of World Poker Tour Enterprises said:
“This is a very important move for us as we continue to expand our business in the European market."
Oliver Zugel, CEO of Grup Peralada´s Casino Division said:
“This agreement further reinforces our leading position in poker and will create a new standard for premium, televised poker events in Europe and lay the groundwork for an Iberian tour involving other leading casinos in Spain and Portugal.”
 As I write this blog, Guy Laliberte, the "richest man in Canada" has just finished 4th in the Five Diamond World Poker Tour Championship in Las Vegas. Guy, the co-founder of "Cirque du Soleil," is playing in only his third tournament after picking up the game less than 18 months ago. Perhaps he was visiting the five "Cirque" shows now playing in Las Vegas and just stopped by the Bellagio to win $696,220.
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SWEDEN - It appears the government will attempt to prop up the current monopoly (Svenska Spel)by imposing huge taxes and licensing fees on other businesses attempting to bring online gaming into the country. The current state run gaming monopoly is likely to run into more legal resistance from other European Union members.
FRANCE - Its not just online gaming but bricks and mortar operations as well under fire in France. Recently cancellation of several major poker tournaments and the banning of WPT Enterprises from filming in Paris this month seems aimed more at the noted French phobia against anything not French than any real governmental attempt to regulate gaming. However, the EU is likely to include France in any anti-commerce action directed at other member nations.
UNITED STATES - No progress in Congress is expected towards modifying or repealing the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act. Several new gaming bills have weak support in the Legislature. On the International fronts, Antigua is expected to press its claims against the US with the World Trade Organization after the US let its most recent appeal deadline pass with no notice to the WTO.
GERMANY - Courts have thrown out a suit that would have prevented an Austian company from taking online wagers in Bavaria. Here the courts did not side with the German state run betting monopoly but instead went with the more open policy of the European Union's trade guidelines.
VIETNAM - Slow but steady progress continues towards a government run online wagering monopoly. With no trade barriers to such a system, it appears several SouthEast Asian countries will enter the lucrative online gaming market within the next 12 to 18 months. The only question that remains is whether they will build stand alone systems or whether they might partner will already existing gaming and poker sites. A national "poker skin" for Vietnam would be a coup for any of the existing poker portals.
