Before "Black Friday," online poker was at its peak and was generating billions of dollars through US players alone. While online poker is still being played globally, the market for Internet poker has taken a huge hit since the US was by far the largest contributor.
The backlash?
Well, considering Pokerstars, Fulltilt, and Absolute Poker are all run through different countries, the US economy didn't have much to lose by banning online poker in the US, but arguably had a great deal to gain. Billions of dollars were being poured out of the US and into the hands of foreign countries, as poker sites are unable to be run through the US due to America's gambling laws. Therefore, many Americans who are no longer able to play Internet poker, are likely contributing more to the US economy, either by playing poker in US casinos, or by spending what would normally be their gambling money on other things.
In my opinion, "Black Friday" was a clever ploy by the US Government to benefit the economy. The economy has been in a terrible recession, and an act of desperation was taken by the US Government to increase revenue streams by attempting to shutdown online poker in the US. While many would argue that the US would have been much better off legalizing Internet poker and cashing in on the Internet poker market rather than banning it, passing laws takes a lot time, and the US economy doesn't have much time to waste. On the other hand, shutting down the top poker sites in the US only took 1 day, April 15th, 2011.
I am not really a huge fan of online poker, I think that it takes a large part of the strategy out of playing, which is bluffing and creating a persona at the table.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of the Black Friday for online poker though, this was a good, informative story.
I used to play online poker. It was fun till I lost my money. Sucks that they are no longer around though, but you're right it is a good idea to help the economy.
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