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Online Casino WSOP Satellite Entries Face Uncertain Future |
| Although the World Series of Poker is still legal, the online casino satellite tournaments which allow online casino fans to qualify to enter and participant in this major series might not be. Recently, President George W. Bush passed into law the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act, which has dramatically changed the landscape for online casino poker players. Since this law was passed, 350 online casinos sites have stopped taking American bets. ‘We did not accept third party registrations from online poker sites that do business with US residents in 2005, nor in 2006. The World Series broke every record in 2006, and we’re planning for continued growth in 2007,’ said Gary Thompson, Harrah’s spokesman. This company runs the WSOP, has not been accepting third party payments from online casino sites for the past two years. In the past, online casino qualifiers have generally not seen the US 10,000 dollars WSOP buy-in because officials from the online casino room where they played and eventually qualified paid it for them. Some believe that the number of online casino qualifying participants will drop severely this year due to the new anti-gambling law. This will definitely affect the mood and atmosphere of the WSOP, as well as the amount and type of competition that will be available to the competitors within the series. Online casino fans who will be able to qualify will not notice any difference. However, those players who are from the US who dreamed of taking part in the WSOP might have to watch from far as poker is played by others. |
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