Seems this one has some loop holes. First, banks get about 9 months to see if they can figure a way to enforce the new law. If they don't then well maybe there is less of an impact. NetTeller may be a big winner or someone like them. IE, an intermediary between your bank and the punters. IMO, the big impact will be more crooked online gamling sites as the sorta honest ones stay out of the US market. Seneca ps-will this piss off Red Staters?
They don't need banks to enforce. They will block domains on the backbone to US clients... Tough to play online poker when you get a "server cannot be found" on your browser. Neteller will likely stop US deposits to gaming sites as soon as Bushie signs the bill. You can't avoid routing your Neteller withdrawals to a bank or atm. Neteller TOS state clearly that they will cooperate with all US Govt agencies; in particular, supplying the IRS with transaction records. The bill is ominous -- it attaches criminality to the act of facilitating gaming to US citizens. Online gaming in the US is dead. Time to move to Costa Rica.
I'm not a gambler (too much like trading). In general terms, whenever the US tries to outlaw a vice, it usually fails: Prohibition was an example, thewar on drugs failure is another. Prostitution is doing well last I checked. (Just what my friends tell me.) You can get a drink in a dry county in OK just by "joining" a club. The mafia ran a nice lottery known as "the numbers" until the States took it over, etc. Just seems to me, that congress can't pass something like this and have it work. NetTeller may not do it, but what will stop some foreign based organization from taking deposits from US citizens and using it to pay merchants overseas, including online gamblers? If a US citizen opened a Swiss bank account and had a Swiss credit card, how would the US stop him from using the Swiss account to pay for his online gambling or other purchases? It seems the server issue you mentioned could be circumvented via proxies. Could it be this is more a measure to protect the Vegas, Indian, etc casinos rather than protect citizens? I guess gambling when the government gets a cut is not a vice. Seneca
You're missing the point. There are multiple vectors. The first-line will be to simply order the net-backbone [Verizon] to block access to any gambling domain. HTF are you going to gamble through the net w/o the net? You can't avoid the backbone defense via proxy. How are you going to get paid? Make deposits? Domain access? Who are you going to complain to when the Russian mob runs off with your prohibited cash? I understand the intellectual curiosity of looking for angles, but it's dead...
I don't understand the net well enuf to understand your comment re. proxies failing, but the law did not address web access, only method of payment. S
Each domain is like a fingerprint. It's the terminus that matters, not the number of routers you bounce. The law only addresses the criminality... not enforcement measures. I have a relative who testifies before Congress on telecom/net issues and the info came direct from him.
I disagree...it brings money to a few consumers and entertainment to many...its absurd that the government goes this far to prevent some from doing what they want just because others cant control a bad habit.... I dont see them closing down BARS ( strip clubs ) , or casinos...its just a way to keep the money in the US is the way i see it...since they wont make it legal for US companies to make the rake..then why let foriegn companies enjoy the millions upon millions made on the rake....
I agree, this bill only talked about payment methods, it doesn't mention anything about blocking the traffic. if they attempt something like that it might be a major issue. Content filtering?? China does this crap not US, besides they could do same thing with porn but don't [EDIT] To expand on the traffic blocking, even if they do block traffic at "core" routers nothing stops me from using a secure proxy server to get outside US and connect from there. Its beeing done for other purposes today. Looking for all these proxy servers and blocking them at the ISP level would be like trying to stop all spammers and child porn sites. They should just accept this as part of "computer-based society" tax it and continue searchign for bin laden.