Mike Gatto, PokerStars, Oxen and Donkeys

My wife believes I should be a politician. I can’t see it. Take the problem that the not so United States of America are having with the implementation of an online poker bill. During a recent interview with Marco Valerio at OnlinePokerReport, California politician Mike Gatto expressed his guess that since 2008 between two and six online poker bills have been submitted to the wizards who hide behind the curtain, and none of them have passed. I couldn’t accept that. I couldn’t work in an environment that reeks of that. I just don’t get that.

Creating an online poker bill is nothing new. If the U.S. politicians could pull their heads out of their asses for long enough, they will notice a whole world beyond their borders that manages to operate regulated online poker without undue fuss. The religious groups don’t seem to be hitting anybody over the head with their crosses, the parents aren’t complaining that their under age children are stealing all of their money, and the organizations designed to care for gambling addicts like me also seem to be fairly happy about the management of online poker.

Take the U.K as a prime example. I wouldn’t say that I am clued in to every single conversation that goes on about the difficulty and ease of a regulated online poker market, but my ear is pretty close to the ground. I think I would hear the disconcerted rumblings of anarchy. There is no noise. I can’t hear a bloody thing. Not one single complaint.

Why does it have to be so complicated? The speed at which these things move, and the time and effort that is ploughed into the creations of these bills – not to mention the millions of dollars that pass back and fore between hands – is incredible. I mean, talk about hypocrisy. American politicians worrying about the financial corruption that online poker could create, when those same people are probably taking a few backhanders themselves? Don’t make me laugh.