Study suggests legalizing online poker

Thursday, July 31, 2008




After an extensive amount of research University of Western Ontario professor June Cotte is recommending online poker be legalized, according to a recent story in the London Free Times.

Cotte worked with colleague Kathryn Latour of the University of Nevada and over the course of their research they interviewed 20 regular casino gamblers and 10 regular online gamblers.

Cotte was surprised to learn that online poker is already bringing in $12 to $15 billion a year despite the fact U.S. players have to risk playing in an unregulated online market.

"The horse is out of the barn," she said in the Times article. "There are a huge amount of people doing this already."

During their research Cotte and Latour found that online gamblers played more frequently and aggressively. They also tended to lose awareness of their losses.

The study also indicated that illegal offshore online operators are problematic, because they occupy a legal gray area.

The benefits of legalizing online poker, according to Cotte, would be the ability to regulate the industry and hopefully reduce the harmful effects.
Cotte had several suggestions for regulating poker, including adding cooling-off periods when large sums of money are lost online.

Other features could include pop-ups that would warn players about the amount of time they've been playing consecutively, and online counseling.

The U.S. government passed the Unlawful Gambling Enforcement Act in October 2006, which has since come under considerable criticism from both poker fans and lately the mainstream media.






Copyright: Pokerlistings.com
Content: CLICK
Author: Arthur Crowson
News hawk: Jus Sumguy




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It only makes sense. I hope they guys have some pull because online gambling in US has been going on for quite some time and when it comes to legalizing it has not made a difference before. I really hope they can push this case.

what i dont understand is for us USA players its cool if we want to go play poker at a casino but to sit in the comfortabity of our own home NOPE thats not ok i dont get it

Yeah really sounds like this guy's on our side! This article makes it sound like he's saying well since we can't hope to ever stop it we might as well regulate the shit out of it to save people from themselves. Same ol' BS that those who want to see online poker wiped out use, just with a different recommendation.

I hope NO ONE is listening to this guy and poker players he is not your ally.

Brick & mortar casinos employ more lobbyists.

Obviously most people on here will say legalize it but it just makes sense. We need the extra money to rebuild our bridges and roads that Bush is neglecting by fighting his Daddy's war in Iraq. I think the federal government should set up it's own site for poker to keep a track of winnings for tax purposes as well. We could also throw in sports books in to boot.

Chispa73 for President in '16!

Its almost similar to the fact you can buy a bong in UK but its illegal to smoke dope....same principal anyway, totally ludicris but then again most laws are one big contradiction. Im sure this will be fixed soon, it has to be. (The poker that is)

It's nice to live in a country where we can freely talk about and/or discuss topics freely. But talk is not action! How many of you discussing this topic of legalizing on line gambling are registered to vote?? And actually use that RIGHT? If you're NOT registered to vote,GO AND REGISTER OR---Shut the F--- up and stop complaining!! Complaining does NOTHING!! ACTION DOES! If you're interested, there ARE people out there who ARE taking action agains this bill and YOU TOO can be a part of the solution and not part of the problem! 'Cuz here's the address---PPA; 1325 G St. NW; Suite 500; Washington DC, 20005--Phone-1-888-448-4PPA. OR, e-mail them at email@pokerplayersalliance.org I VOTE!! And I am also an active member of the PPA! Now, what are y'all gonna do?? TALK or get involved??---Rick