I'm a bit skeptical at this article. I mean, if Americans are oppose to legalizing online gambling, why has their been such moves as Barney Frank's push to legalize it? I need some opinions on this one. (This is the local news paper from where I live FYI)

http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/...ID=20103120324

The answer is embedded in the article itself:

Sixty-seven percent of respondents oppose legalizing Internet betting, echoing the opinion of Sam Baker, an 81-year-old who moved to Atlantic City from Las Vegas 20 years ago.

"You can go anywhere today to gamble, so why hit bottom with the Internet?" he asked. "I like to see my money come and go right in front of me."

So what is illustrated is the "generation gap" inherent in this issue. If you're over 40, you're unlikely to engage in this activity. What is powering growth is the so-called "Facebook generation".

So this "poll" of only 1000 people nationally says only two things to me:

1. You can see why a state-by-state solution might be inevitable, because, for example, NJ is overwhelmingly supportive and ahead of the curve nationally; and

2. Does the country want to base technology and commerce policy on the opinion of 80-year-olds, who do not email or have any level of comfort with e-commerce (note the quote above), let alone play poker online?

Joe@iMEGA

You can make polls like these say just about whatever you want depending on how you phrase the question. A couple extreme possible examples with online poker would be:

If you want the poll to say that online poker shouldn't be regulated...

Do you believe that online poker, known as the crack cocaine of gambling, should be reglated and therefore more accessible to millions of new Americans who could possibly start playing?

Or if you want to poll to say that online poker should be regulated...

In these though economic times do you believe that online poker should be regulated and taxed which could potentially bring in billions of dollars of tax revenue which could be used to help pay for such projects as new schools and highway repair?

I'm certainly not saying that fair and unbiased questions can't be asked. But who wants to spend the money to ask that type of question?

The linked article in the OP omits the poll questions, and doesn't offer a link to poll's source. So after hitting up google and upon examining the poll, there does seem to be a problem with leading questions. Also the main question states internet gambling is already illegal in the U.S., which is inaccurate for most States.

This "poll" tastes a bit like kool-aid and appears to be good fodder for propaganda, but not much else. I can't tell if that's the intention of the source or just how it turned out.

Link to poll:

http://publicmind.fdu.edu/casino/

I saw another article on this "poll" the other day, and IIRC the source was FOF. Sooooooo...toss this one in the trash heap. It's no more valid that the poll question "Do you think that sports will play a large part in the nation's healing?" that was posted on the Sports Illustrated website after the 9/11 attacks.

Oh my god

stop telling me what to do with my life

who cares what other Americans think

do I come into your room and tell you how to **** your fat wife?

I want to take a baseball bat to these people

You know what, people that gamble online will continue to play online. The government just wants every reason they can find to oppose online gambling and it's an industry rapidly growning. So for the US, it's either, your in on it or your out. So far, we believe that US will somehow come to terms in getting internet gambling regulated at some point because they want their piece of that pie. :-)

It looks like a pretty cheap poll and it says little about poker as no poker question is asked. I was interested that the slant of the questions was about legalising not increasing enforcement. This would suggest that those creating the poll see this as the future likely direction. At the time of UIGEA nobody was really putting the case for legalising now it is sen as the likely direction.

Now this is properly funded polling on the question here in the UK with a series of polls to track change over years.

http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk...arch/bgps.aspx

In the UK

Land of the free.

As an aside buried in a follow up study is this report of a Canadian study on poker playing students. Seriously you will love it! It gets my award for most biassed study against Internet Gambling ever...ignore the self selecting sample the way they chose mostly young single males (they show up as more problematic gamblers) the best is creating a whole new problem gambler type, the second best using the ability to disguise gender as a problem symptom!

http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk...Oct%202008.pdf

+infinity

You know, I'll take to what Joe said that this poll could have been base on those over 40 because it was within the article itself. Of course the older generation really doesn't feel comfortable about putting their money on a website that they think they don't trust. Another thing I want to point out is how the media always points out that gambling online is illegal or placing wagers is illegal. On the technicality, the player placing the bet isn't illegal but we know that it is illegal for the banks to accept transactions from online gambling sites.

fyp i think

Not exactly. Banks are prohibited from knowingly accepting transactions related to unlawful Internet gambling only. For example, transactions pertaining to licensed horse racing wagering sites like YouBet and Twinspires are not prohibited (both due to the carveout for horse racing and to the Interstate Horse Racing Act). Likewise, the PPA and poker sites claim that peer-to-peer games of skill are not unlawful under federal law, as the Wire Act should be construed as applying only to sports betting.