How Many People Does Online Poker Ban Actually Stop From Playing?

Do you think there are a very large number of people who are discouraged from playing becuase of online poker's technical illegality in America, or do most people who want to just do it anyway?

What do you guys think?
I don't live in America so don't know this and whether it will really alter the online industry by legalising it.

Also is it actually difficult for a lot of people living in America to deposit and withdraw from poker sites?

I really don't think anyone cares about it being "illegal".
I think that those who want to play, do so regardless. It can be a pain depositing sometimes but there is always ways around it.

There are many people that have stopped playing. The totally recreational player who plays maybe once or twice a month (mybe 3 times - LOL). There are 1000s of players like that who no longer play because getting a deposit on a site is too big of a hassle.

There are a lot of people (mostly older generation) that play just in casino's because it's legal, if Internet Gambling was legalized, All those players most likely would play online every once in awhile. But In America just because something is illegal doesn't really stop us >

The law as it is stated today does not target players. So with that in mind it is not illegal to play online for money in the USA. The language in the law has not really gone into effect in the USA and hopefully it never will.

I cant see it ever becoming completely illegal. Some people might have stopped playing, but thats only because its a complete PITA to make a deposit. However as others have said there are ways around....

It has affected the game HUGELY. Like others have said, it has taken out the typical recreational player. Read that as 'your local fish that just wants to play some cards'. It hasn't stopped the grinders, but those are not typically the people you want to play against.

If it became 'legal' again (and yes, I understand it is not 'illegal' but general Joe player does NOT really understand that) we would see a large inflow of the casual player again. And much better EV.

Seems the OP has been watching too much "60 Minutes".

LOL that got me to chuckle......But Vollycat is right about the casual player being weeded out by the online poker restrictions. I agree that we would see a modest uptick in EV if the rope was loosened a bit.

I also think the Act has greatly reduced the amount of players. Depositing is a problem and then you throw in the reality of withdrawal issues as well and then you wonder if it's all worth the trouble. I hope this year will bring clarity to the issue.

The US Gov should legalize it. All they have to do is put some regulations on it and they can also earn revenue off of taxes.

I have a friend I play live poker with, one day he wanted to play online with $100. He was underage so he signed up in his dad's name. His dad's card would not go through due to the bank restrictions.

I told him work-arounds and he just said, "**** it".

The end.

This.

At this point, the amount of people who played for real money and don't anymore, because it was "banned" is very, very minimal imo.

Its illegal!?!?!!?

...jk but seriously, there are freaking commercials for online poker all the time on tv, no one cares about legalities, tv says do it, you do it!

Being from the states i must say it is our responsiblity it respect the laws that govern us.Having said that we also have a right to reject the laws that are just absolutly silly!I suspect one day all this foolishness about online gaming will end but it doesn't stop me from participating.As that old story goes......"i will find someone to take my money"!

The US is fine with you finding someone to take your money, as long as it remains in the states.

You've got to remember they have a job to do, millions and millions of dollars are being taken from the US to these other countries.

This has the same effect as out sourcing.

But Ads on TV advertise .net sites for play chips not the .com sites for real money.

Yes, they suck you in like that, just like how cigerate companies would get away with promoting their products by putting them in shows/movies.

Hey I love pretending I am Marlon Brando while I smoke mine okay? lol

Since it is perceived that online poker/betting is illegal by the general public, it seems certain that it prevents many new recreational players from trying it.

In addition, the big scandal involving UB (no regulation), the difficulty of depositing and concerns of withdrawing (Netteller) combined with the perception of illegality, its hard to believe that very large numbers of potential new players are not lost.

In spite of this though, new deposits keep coming in and new rooms still open up. I think one thing is certain. There likely will be enough new players to replace those leaving (for whatever the reason) to allow us to continue to play.

[quote=blackmax;1442165]Being from the states i must say it is our responsiblity it respect the laws that govern us.Having said that we also have a right to reject the laws that are just absolutly silly!

"It is our responsibility to respect the laws that govern us" and a right to reject the laws that we think are silly?

I think it is our responsibility to follow the laws irregardless if we like them or not (unless they are illegal). Laws and rules are constantly changing. If we disagree, we can disrespect and or try to change them.

We probably all pick and chose which laws or rules we want to follow. The question is; Do we all accept responsibility for our actions? I'm gambling that online poker won't land me in the poker.