Barack Obama, the 44th President in the history of the United States, took office on 20 January 2009. And no-one can deny that the new President has more pressing issues to deal with during the current crisis than the question of online poker. Nevertheless, this issue concerns millions of players in the United States.
The UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) Law, adopted in 2006 by the Bush administration, prohibits financial transactions outright between online poker websites and American banks. It was intended to bring an end to online poker in the USA. In a more general manner, numerous measures have been taken to combat online poker in the United States over the past 2 or 3 years.

This package of measures has already had several effects. Firstly, there has been a large increase in the number of poker rooms refusing American players.

This is the case for Ongame, ipoker and Pacific poker (888). These poker rooms want to avoid being brought before the courts and ordered to pay millions of dollars in fines.

Secondly, there has been the trial of the giant of the online gaming giant Party gaming, which has just been sentenced to pay $300 million in fines after being forced to acknowledge its “crimes”. For the past 2 years, FullTilt Poker and PokerStars have managed to slip through the net of the ban, but that could soon change with the recent official implementation of the UIEGA.

Arguments against these retaliatory measures targeting online poker have even made it onto the new President’s blog.

Indeed, several thousand messages and votes have been posted, demanding that Obama legalise online gaming! The legalisation of online gaming could allow a booming industry to inject freedom and dynamism into an economy that is in dire need of a boost.

Surprisingly, this has become one of the most eagerly-followed discussions on the President’s website, demonstrating that Americans want to have complete freedom to play on their favourite sites.

Furthermore, the “Poker Player Alliance” - an organisation for the defence of poker interests - is lobbying Congress to ensure that online poker is finally treated as a serious issue.

Obama has the power to repeal this law outright, as it could be considered to be one of the “Midnight Laws” passed at the very end of his predecessor’s term of office.

Americans are asking to be treated as adults and to be allowed to make up their own minds about whether or not it is right to play online poker.

Will Obama listen to their pleas?