Fade2241, on Wednesday, October 17th, 2007, 2:33 PM, said:
Yeah, I understand that. But I don't think it's time to start overreacting and calling for government action - that's all i'm saying.
Think back to the first time you played for real $ on-line. Remember wondering if it was legit and safe? Remember the first bad beat, or the first time seeing some donk go on a heater, or the first extended losing streak, or two guys that seemed to know each other too well, or seeing 4 of a kind twice in one session...?...tell me it NEVER crossed your mind that on line poker (OLP) was rigged.These are the thoughts that go thru the mind of every noob and Fish at one time or another.How many threads have been started here where someone was SERIOUSLY claiming that OLP was rigged? Or that the RNG was able to be cracked? Or that there was a way to see hole cards? Now the boogie man is real and has a face.For OLP to remain viable it needs fresh blood to feed the sharks. It needs fish. I believe that one of the biggest schools of fish is the US market. This isn't nationalism talking. Let's face it - the US represents the single biggest target market. People like to say that the Poker Boom started with Moneymaker. They have it half right. It started with Moneymaker on
ESPN. I'm not saying that the US is the only market nor single key to OLP being successful - but it is damn important.There is already a huge amount of uncertainty for US players. Many don't even know if it is even legal for them to play. Now add to this the current AP Scandal. It becomes a Worldwide mess. And Pandora has already opened the box. This will never go away - even if "proven" false or redefined as "chip dumping". To think that only educated players know about this and that the Fish will not understand or that it will not influence their behavior it is just silly.At the same time, the US Government has a hard-on to put OLP out of business. Not just here, but everywhere. They had enough support to pass the legislation that has resulted in nearly eliminating the US Market and putting several Gaming Executives in jail. This scandal (and the way that AP has handled it) is the poster child for the anti-gamers. The only thing that could have been "better" for them is if the scumbag cheater was named Muhammed so they could link it to terrorism. The support will be there to act. And for those of you who say: "What can the US Govt do to shut down OL Gaming located off-shore?"The answer is: "Plenty." All the Federal Reserve has to do is turn to the Banks and Financial Services Providers and Transactors and say: "Stop processing the transactions now - or else." And it will end. No more Visa/MC transactions - including "Gift Cards" They can and will identify the transactions and stop them. And not just in the US.
ALL banks must comply with the Fed's regulations in order to transact with any US BankSo, in order to reestablish consumer confidence AND head off the almost certainly pending US Govt action, the industry needs to band together and declare themselves an organized INDUSTRY. They need to establish standards, guidelines, testing procedures, security protocols, privacy guidelines...Then they need to run - not walk - to the US Govt and show them their progress and then PLEAD for regulation. I suppose it could be the EU instead of the US Govt, but I think the only way to ensure that the US Govt doesn't act in a punitive manner is to let them set the rules. In no way am I saying the the US Govt is better than others (at least not in this debate), and I do not tend to be trusting of my or any other government, I just think that OLP is gonna need to do something desperate to stay in business.Clearly this is just my assessment and I welcome any rational debate.
1
