BrianGarst.com

Earlier this month, a rogue New York prosecutor took it upon himself to illegally freeze $34 million in online poker winnings.

Prosecutors’ seizure of $34 million belonging to online poker players ups the ante in a long-running struggle between the Justice Department, which wants to shut down the online-gambling industry, and members of Congress who want to make it legal.

The government has used several laws to prosecute online gambling. Critics claim those laws are unclear and are sometimes contradicted by a patchwork of state laws.

Although it’s stupid no matter how you cut it, what is most pathetic about this action is that it targeted individual players whose activities were not illegal even under the ill advised stealth passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006.  Over 27,000 Americans exercising their natural right to use their property as they see fit were assaulted by this policy.  Although some misguided legislators think it’s their place to protect the peasants from themselves, a large part of government antagonism toward online gambling is simply a turf war.  The government has skin in this game, as they sanction or even sponsor gambling all across the country.  It is utterly hypocritical and immoral to use the force of government to protect chosen gambling venues while attacking others.  This nanny state foolishness must stop, immediately.

It’s sad to say that what should be an issue of small government seems to be best understood by democrats, while many republicans oddly take the statist view.  I don’t get it, but at least there’s one issue where some good might come with having the democrats in power.

Democrats gambling poker