Online Casino Transfer: News - Back to the Pennsylvanian Drawing Board

04/11/2010		Online Casino Style: News Back to the Pennsylvanian Drawing Board
Home History Games News Dictionary		It can be remarkably frustrating to see the see-saw patterns that continue to dominate the issues on internet gambling – especially in the United States. Though the law dictated by the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act is prohibitive against internet casinos, the billions of dollars generated by the industry continue to insist that players don’t care what the books say they can or cannot do. For the game of poker, specifically, the waffling of whether poker is a game of chance or a game of skill is fast becoming just as ridiculous a contention, as the appeal and re-appeals that continuously rule in favor and in opposition, have poker players caring little if legalization is in the possible future, as it seems guaranteed that the politicians would change their minds in a matter of months, regardless. Example: The state of Pennsylvania has reversed a ruling on the game of poker just this week, deciding to overturn an acquittal after deciding that yes, in fact, the game of poker is primarily a game of chance. The case, which originally broke in 2008, will send a local couple back to the defensive drawing board as their acquittal has been deemed null and void; they have once again been charged will the running of an illegal gambling operation, as they held friendly poker games in their home garage two years ago. The appeal in favor of the State’s prosecution was ruled by President Judge Kate Ford Elliott, Senior Judge Robert Freedberg, and Senior Judge Robert Colville, with the first two agreeing that poker is, indeed, gambling and therefore illegal. Their ruling that poker needs to be considered a game of chance, not skill, has disappointed not only Diane Dent and Walter Watkins (the game’s garage hosts) but also the Poker Players Alliance and the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, who represented the pair back in 2008, as well as the online gambling community as a whole. Freedberg and Elliott conceded that though some skill is involved in the game of poker, it didn’t diminish the much stronger role that chance plays. Colville disagreed, saying that the prosecution failed to provide sufficient evidence on proving that poker was a game of luck, and refused to sign the appeal in favor of the state. Dent and Watkins’ attorney, Howard Bashman, said that he was not yet sure if they’d be taking the case back to the Supreme Court, but that he continues to believe that their position is strong enough to win a righteous ruling.

04/11/2010

Online Casino Style: News
Back to the Pennsylvanian Drawing Board

It can be remarkably frustrating to see the see-saw patterns that continue to dominate the issues on internet gambling – especially in the United States. Though the law dictated by the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act is prohibitive against internet casinos, the billions of dollars generated by the industry continue to insist that players don’t care what the books say they can or cannot do. For the game of poker, specifically, the waffling of whether poker is a game of chance or a game of skill is fast becoming just as ridiculous a contention, as the appeal and re-appeals that continuously rule in favor and in opposition, have poker players caring little if legalization is in the possible future, as it seems guaranteed that the politicians would change their minds in a matter of months, regardless.

Example: The state of Pennsylvania has reversed a ruling on the game of poker just this week, deciding to overturn an acquittal after deciding that yes, in fact, the game of poker is primarily a game of chance. The case, which originally broke in 2008, will send a local couple back to the defensive drawing board as their acquittal has been deemed null and void; they have once again been charged will the running of an illegal gambling operation, as they held friendly poker games in their home garage two years ago.

The appeal in favor of the State’s prosecution was ruled by President Judge Kate Ford Elliott, Senior Judge Robert Freedberg, and Senior Judge Robert Colville, with the first two agreeing that poker is, indeed, gambling and therefore illegal. Their ruling that poker needs to be considered a game of chance, not skill, has disappointed not only Diane Dent and Walter Watkins (the game’s garage hosts) but also the Poker Players Alliance and the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, who represented the pair back in 2008, as well as the online gambling community as a whole.

Freedberg and Elliott conceded that though some skill is involved in the game of poker, it didn’t diminish the much stronger role that chance plays. Colville disagreed, saying that the prosecution failed to provide sufficient evidence on proving that poker was a game of luck, and refused to sign the appeal in favor of the state. Dent and Watkins’ attorney, Howard Bashman, said that he was not yet sure if they’d be taking the case back to the Supreme Court, but that he continues to believe that their position is strong enough to win a righteous ruling.