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Kathleen K. Watterson
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05 Feb 2010
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The beginning of the New Year is always a great time for two things: predictions and resolutions.
Here are my top four predictions about the future of Internet Poker: |
Online poker will soon go mobile, allowing players more options for time and venue.
It’s definitely coming. In the not-too-distant future, you’ll be able to play poker on your mobile phone while enduring yet another flight delay, while taking a lunch break or just to get through your firm’s umpteenth mid-winter sales seminar. (Just don’t let your boss catch you in the act!)
The possibility of secure, mobile poker is clearly in the cards now that PokerStars has acquired Cecure Gaming, a mobile gaming software development company.
Backed by well-heeled investors, Cecure was founded at the turn of the century with the objective of providing state-of-the-art mobile poker technology with a very high degree of security.
For the first few years, things went well. But when consumer demand languished in a fizzling economy, the company ran into hard times. Cavendish Corporate Finance played matchmaker and brought PokerStars to the rescue.
I can see it now: with mobile poker just around the corner, it’s only a matter of time before a World Series of Poker winner says, “It all started with a few hands I played while waiting to pick up my kid from his soccer game.”
“Brick & mortar” casinos will launch online arms.
With huge, worldwide client databases and superb tracking technology, existing Internet gaming sites make ideal partners for traditional, land-based casinos.
Online partnering offers badly needed additional revenue for land casinos that have seen a sharp drop-off in attendance, especially on weeknights and during off-hours. In addition, some aspects of the advanced technology used online can be applied to land-based operations and gaming equipment.
Nevertheless, the American Gaming Association has yet to declare its support for the legalisation of Internet gambling. It’s time for that to happen.
Could this be the year? Let’s take a look at my next prediction:
The United States will legalise online wagering, especially poker, but proponents can expect to face a few additional hurdles. Despite well-organized opponents with deep pockets, I believe legalisation is inevitable within the next two years.
And it could happen sooner out of fiscal necessity. With a federal government sinking in red ink and many states – including California and Nevada – facing serious budget shortfalls, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for legislators to look that Internet gambling tax gift horse in the mouth. The potential of all that added revenue is just too tempting, especially when it’s filling the coffers of other governments.
Reprieve
Meanwhile, there’s power in numbers. Isolated individuals holding forth with their opinions in Internet forums may never see any concrete results for their trouble, but an organized special interest group with strategic goals and good PR can lobby government representatives and actually get results.
Case in point: the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), a U.S.-based, grassroots advocacy group, successfully petitioned the Federal Reserve and the Department of the Treasury to take one step back and delay enforcement of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) regulations. Those regulations, requiring banks and financial institutions to disallow online gambling transactions lest they be in violation of the law, were slated to take effect December 1st last year.
Pondering the PPA membership roster of over a million determined poker players and sympathizers, the decision makers stonewalled at first. Then they deliberated for a while. Finally, they blinked. After all, an organization of more than a million organized voters could make a critical difference in the next elections. It simply wouldn’t do to ignore them.
The request was granted. Enforcement of Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) regulations was scuttled until June 1st.
Still, the PPA didn’t get everything it asked for – the request was for a one-year delay. But six months’ reprieve is better than none!
Finally, a few resolutions for 2010:
- Seek out the best available deposit bonuses and depositor freeroll tournaments offered at respected Internet poker sites. (Admittedly, this sometimes requires a bit of time to research, but the effort yields virtually free money!)
- Never stay in a bad online game. (There’s always a better place to put your money!)
- Try to figure out how Joe Cada, the youngest player ever to win the World Series of Poker, somehow managed to outlast everyone else at the event’s longest-ever final table. (You may never figure it out, but you could learn a lot by trying!)
Have a profitable 2010!
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