Online Poker Like Terrorism?

A former Democratic U.S. senator from Arkansas could now be known as the Queen of FUD, writes Erik Gibbs of CalvinAyre.com.  FUD in this case stands for Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt. 

In writing an op-ed piece for the Financial Times, Blanche Lincoln compared online poker to terrorism.

She went on to reference crime data via the Internet.

Lincoln wrote, “The FBI’s 2017 Internet Crime Report revealed that the victim count and financial losses suffered as a result of online gambling surpassed that of terrorism-related cybercrimes last year. It is this clear pattern of targeting the helpless that stands out to me.”

Gibbs notes that online gambling actually ranked 31st out of 33 Internet activities listed by the number of victims in 2017.

He went on to question her motives:

She is now working with a group that is trying to prevent, or at the very least delay, casino industry innovation and to keep gambling off the Internet. Her op-ed piece can be described as nothing more than a poor attempt at fear mongering as she tried to link online gambling with terrorism. When someone has to reach that far out in left field to try and prove his or her point, it’s obvious there’s no case.

Sport gambling, including online sports gambling, and online poker are here to stay, Gibbs added, noting that the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled against decades long sports betting prohibition.  Online poker in some ways will be among the beneficiaries of such a decision as U.S. law enforcement shifts its attention away from gambling activities.

- Ace King, Gambling911.com