Reflections of an "outsider"

On first sight the Black Friday appears to be a shockwave for the United States and doesn’t have as much influence on the rest of the world, but it once again shows the whole online poker community all over the world that our governments can and will limit our options to enjoy what we like most. It is no isolated issue and does in fact concern every poker player, we need to stick together if we still want to be able to play.

 There is no excuse for the various crimes that have been committed by the poker sites and they have to protect their business now and limit the access for Americans, it may very well be an important step towards the regulation of online poker in the United States or the end of it. A typical coinflip and we don’t know yet who is gonna win.

 What do you take out of the situation as poker player right now? Most non Americans get assured that their funds are safe and the Americans itself can just hope and pray that they will see their money again. But the effect it will have on the whole industry and all the jobs that may now be destroyed, as well as the insecurity and lack of trust does surely play a role for potential new customers.

 As Europeans we can look forward to more promotions and potential jobs as well, but we may be the next on the list after the development at France and Germany is next that would love to regulate online gambling as well and just allow it by offering a specific gambling license. Many have put a lot of effort into establishing poker as game of skill, now the government has every reason to still declare it as gambling and destroy all work so far.

 

Is there hope in sight? Of course, yet the circumstances have changed and last Friday will definitely have an influence on the future regulation, no matter if we like it or not. The reputation of online poker itself has just been backstabbed and it takes a long time to earn the trust again, apart from the monetary loss this might be one of the biggest issues that we have to deal with in the near future. Be it as part of the business as poker site, player, affiliate or media.

 

Right now quite a lot of Americans have actually lost their job and their source of income, the big poker sites will have to reduce their budget and marketing efforts and thus even more jobs get lost. I am not sure yet if the potential opportunities overweigh the current dilemma, only time will show. All we can do right now is stick together and fight for our right to play, many might not like the idea of “wait and see”, but we surely won’t give up easily either.

 

Guess I should feel lucky to be at Germany … for now. But the consequences already show worldwide and we start to realize the influence of this industry. No wonder that the governments want a piece of it and most would even be willing to pay reasonable taxes on it if they can still play. Now it is your turn, we checked in the dark … how much are you going to bet?

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