All bets are off for online gamblers. The controversial Safe Port Act, specifically Title VIII that bans Internet gaming, passed through Congress. It now awaits a signature from the Oval Office. The law will stop all off shore credit transfers and send online gambling firms into their biggest crisis.
Americans bet an estimate of $6 billion a year online, according to industry figures. Internet gambling is a growing cause of debt collection problems for insured banks and the consumer credit industry, according to the bill.
In a news story from NROG.org (National Right for Online Gambling) Jim Leach, the Iowa Republican who sponsored the bill said "If congress had not acted, gamblers would soon be able to place bets not just from home computers, but from their cell phones, while they drive home from work or their BlackBerries as they wait in line at the movies."
Poker industries continue to seek clarification as to whether the Act is in violation of U.S. commitments made by the recent World Trading Organization proceedings. But the industries aren't the only ones in protest. Web sites, such as NROG.org, provide Internet gamblers with up to date news on the law as well as petitions to sign. Other means of protest include a possible march in Washington, Facebook groups.
"People should be able to spend their money the way that they want," said Ben Levy, a 3rd-semester accounting major.
Levy believes, like himself, most people participate in online gambling out of sheer boredom. Levy did most of his gambling over the summer and said he gave it up when he got back to school. He chooses blackjack over poker claiming you can win more money, faster.
"The most I've won was a grand," Levy said. "If you can make $1,000 in an hour, it makes you greedy. Pretty soon I only had $700, and then I kept going till I cashed out with $250."
Rob Puff, a 5th-semester business management and political science double major said the new law really restricts the development and popularity of the game.
"I think it's pretty terrible, I mean if you look at how big poker has gotten and how often it's used," Puff said.
Puff also cut back on online gambling because of classes and now only plays once a week on average. Online gambling is an easier alternative to students who enjoy playing games like poker and blackjack. With the busy schedules most college students have, not much room is left to gather up some friends and sit around the table with a deck of cards.
"I can't get a game with friends at 2 a.m. like I can with online poker," Puff said.
Most analysts see the bill's trip to President George W. Bush as a certainty, according to an article from USA Today. The president is expected to sign the bill into law within the next few weeks.
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