Poker Players Butt Heads Over Online Gambling "Censorship"

Poker players fear that public postings related to online gambling are being read by the likes of U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales...and information obtained from such postings acted upon in a flash of the eye.

This concern has prompted some poker players to go on the offensive.  There is a debate in the online poker community as to whether the payment processing methods used by online poker and other gambling websites should be made public out of fears that anti-internet gambling zealots may be obtaining said information.

"If you guys want to keep playing, stop making things easier for those trying trying to stop you from playing," argues one poster on the very popular Two Plus Two Forum.  "I will 100% guarantee that the anti-poker forces get a significant amount of information from these boards that aid them in their fight against online poker.  So, why give them a road map by providing bank namesor check details?"

Others suggest that the information is of extreme help to those seeking payment and method of depositing funds into an online gaming establishment.

Another poster on the same forum chimed in: 

"Let's just keep putting our heads in the sand. If a site can not get money to its players, even in today's environment, they should be exposed."

The reality is that it takes months, sometimes years, for information to be reviewed and remedies enforced.  Joe Blow FBI Agent is not sitting around reading posting forums waiting to pull a switch at 3 pm today after he reads that XYZ Bank is now processing credit card transactions for online gambling establishments.  In a perfect world (or in an imperfect world from where we sit), that might work. 

FBI agent Patrick Kiernan says there are too many other more important crimes to worry about that deserve higher priority.

"Most people don't realize that there is only a little over 12,500 agents in the FBI for the entire country, and we are responsible for protecting 300 million people," Kiernan told Boise's NewsChannel 7 last month.  "So there are not too many of us around, so we have to prioritize our cases."

Don't tell that to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who in recent months has aggressively gone after online gambling websites and the payment processors they utilize.

In January, the US government indicted two co-founders of popular online payment processor NETeller on various charges ranging from racketeering to money laundering.  On Friday, US prosecutors will decide if they wish to pursue this case further. 

Online gambling companies like SBG Global have also expressed concern over sites that report on payment processing implementation, in particular Gambling911.com.

"Some things you have mentioned in regards to processors, and such, have hurt the industry in general by shining the spotlight on them," expressed Randal D., a manager at SBG Global.  That online gambling company relies almost 98% on US customers.  "Who does and doesn’t process for the industry is really each company’s concern. Governments look to services as yours to give them the information you, and many others, have been so kind to facilitate it to them."

Poker players and other online gamers argue that no good can come out of censorship.

"The DOJ is not your bumbling local police," commented one poster.  "They don't sit around like a beat cop and wait for a "crime" to be put in their lap before they act upon it.  A censorship scenario makes no sense. Your premise is flawed not only in your assumptions of how the DOJ operates, but in your belief that stopping discussion here will lower the TOTAL discussion across all boards."

While another injected: "You are all are extremely underestimating the DOJ. 
This is not like hiding your joint from the local police force outside the bar while you pretend you aren't doing it and they pretend they don't see.  There's nothing to be revealed here that they don't already know."

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Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com

Originally published March 14, 2007 11:01 pm ET