Skilled Shysters

Shut 'em down:

The "Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act" goes after the money, not the millions of players, which would be nearly impossible to enforce. It will essentially try to choke off the way Americans fund their gambling habits, hoping to prevent the transfer of dollars to the popular Internet sites.

It's also widely understood that the law has online poker in its gun sights, identifying it as a game of chance — something the poker companies dispute. They believe poker is a game of skill and therefore not subject to the new rules.

Sophistry. If poker is a game of skill, then the mobsters who run all these gambling sites will have no problem with rotating dealer status through all players and allowing them sixty seconds in which to stack the deck in any manner they wish before dealing. If it's all about skill, that won't matter. Right?

I'm all for this law. The people who try to cast it as censorship and heavy-handed government are either the criminals running the sites or honest citizens suffering an illusion of fairness. This law is about shutting down a money funnel to the mob, and that can only be a good thing.

If you must gamble, fly to Vegas. At least we can contain the damage there and tax it, while keeping a tight leash on the gangsters behind it all.