Fold

Yesterday, the FBI dropped the hammer on online poker, indicting three of the largest online poker web sites and their top brass with bank fraud, money laundering, and a variety of other charges. This is all pursuant to the law passed by Congress about four-and-a-half years ago (which I mentioned at the time) -- a last-minute rider grafted into an unrelated port defense bill (that no elected official would vote against for fear of looking "soft on terror").

There are so many arguments why this is wrong, you can have your pick. Why prohibit something online that's legal and acceptable in person? Why is it okay for states to sponsor true gambling in the form of lotteries, when they prohibit the decidedly more skill-based poker? Why not allow it and tax it as a source of revenue in these times when so many claim to be concerned about budgets?

The bottom line is, regardless of the outcome of these charges, these three sites are surely done for. Most of the others will probably fold up too, being too reliant on U.S. business and too afraid now to risk a similar fate. There may be some sites that keep rolling on the strength of non-U.S. players/customers, but we'll have to see.

We sure can't have people enjoying themselves in the privacy of their own homes, dammit!