

Online gambling in the USA - novaleaf
http://arstechnica.com/business/2013/05/state-by-state-america-keeps-betting-on-online-poker-and-gambling/

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Fuzzwah
I really miss being able to easily play online poker. More than that, I miss
being able to easily play against Americans.

On another note, now that I'm living in the US I'm left wishing I could use my
online poker accounts to easily move money back home to Australia for FAR less
than the going rate of "normal" money transfer options.

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novaleaf
re: TFA, legalization of gambling in the USA has increased drastically over
the last 15 years. Mostly starting in native-american reservations, and then
trickling into other areas wanting to cash in.

Though I personally love playing poker for cash, legalization should be
reversed, not expanded. Being a tax windfall for governments isn't a
justification for the ruin it brings upon families (ignoring the idiot
actually responsible).

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jonathanjaeger
So should we ban cigarettes too? Or how about people who "bet" on the stock
market and lose a fortune? Or people who sink money into a startup? In every
scenario people are going to do stupid things, that doesn't mean those things
should be illegal.

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novaleaf
i don't know if you are arguing for the sake of arguing, or you really feel
(re my statement) that gambling is in the same ballpark?

to respond:

1) killing yourself with cancer in 20 years isn't as insidious as loosing your
families accumulated wealth.

2) betting on stocks is somewhat similar, but the barriers to entry make it a
non-issue to society.

3) startups, same as 2 but moreso

more details on my position: I have 1 extended family member who lost their
immediate family (9 or so people) everything (aprox 1mil usd in savings) due
to gambling obsessions. i know 1 friend who was in a similar position, and 2
aquantences with similar stories.

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jonathanjaeger
Saying that your family had gambling problems is anecdotal. Seeing someone in
a hospital bed with a tube down their throat because of smoking is an argument
you could have made too. There are going to be outliers with every vice
(alcohol comes to mind too), I'm just saying that we shouldn't always jump to
prohibition.

