New Anti-Online Gambling Law Won't Do Much To Stop Addicts; But May Protect Suckers

[johnny1212]

from the a-fool-and-his-money dept

With the anti-online gambling legislation sneaking its way into law by being attached to a bill to protect the ports, some people are starting to ask what this actually means for the industry and for gamblers. It seems unlikely that it will actually stop gamblers from finding somewhere online that will take their money -- though those places may be even more shady than before. No matter what, it does seem pretty clear that the bill will do nothing to stop gambling addicts (who the backers of the bill always focus on), who will easily migrate elsewhere. However, one online gambler who's giving up on the game notes that while there still will be places online to gamble, it won't be worth it for people like him, who thrive on taking money from suckers. The problem, you see, is that while the hardcore gamblers will migrate, the "casual players" (read: suckers with money) won't be as likely to find alternatives or move their money offshore. That takes away the easy money from a bunch of other gamblers, who'd prefer to pick off the suckers than have to play against each other. Of course, we somehow get the feeling that new alternatives that make things easy for the suckers (and those preying on the suckers) will pop up before too long -- though, once again, they'll be even shadier than what was here before.