The Horse Racing Industry And The World Of Online Poker Unite

Poker News - December 16th, 2009 - Written by Bonnie

In an unexpected turn of events, the horse racing industry and the world of Online Poker have combined to aid the agenda of legalized online poker. Horse racing and online poker are very similar, as they are both games of strategy with much risk and a lot of time invested in investigating results. Players tend to find a winning strategy and stick with it until the tables begin to turn. When the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act passed Congress in 2006, there had been many restrictions put into placed pertaining to gambling.

While there are many online poker rooms and gambling sites to place wagers on horse racing, the UIGEA limits the funding of online accounts that are linked to all forms of online gambling. All forms, that is, other than horse racing. Government officials have found a way to restrict online gambling by asserting control over financial institutions, which often prevent gambling transactions from being processed.

Legalizing gambling is a fight that many gambling sites have been trying to overcome for years. Back in 2000, Horse Racing went up against congress to amend the Interstate Horse racing Act of 1978. The amendment was to allow horse racing wagers to be placed via the telephone and or electronically. Government officials continued to argue that the Wire Act in fact outlawed Internet wagers placed on horse racing. The Department of Justice is insisting that the Wire Act is the very same law that make Internet Poker illegal.

The Department of Justice has not gone full force against the Horse Racing Industry, but it is a battle they will continue to fight. Since poker and horse racing are regularly mixed in the same building, horse racing lobbyists have been urging for a bill that would regulate online poker in addition to online horse racing.

The Poker Players Alliance and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association have come together in an attempt to overturn some of the harsh Internet gambling laws. It is a fight that has been going strong for years, with little change thus far. Despite the continued aggression from the Department of Justice against online gambling, Americans are seeing an increasing amount of government officials now backing the legalization of online gambling. This support from legislators, coupled with the PPA and the NTRA, could usher in the generation of legalized online poker.