Forbes: Is US Cracking Down on Online Poker

The battle over the future legal status of online poker in the United States has once again made it to the front pages, this time in a big feature article in the latest edition of Forbes business magazine.

The feature, which was also published on the magazine's website, seeks to answer whether federal authorities are cracking down on online poker, and in particular the world's two biggest poker sites - PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker - as well as the site named for one of the game's biggest stars - Doyle's Room.

The 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which effectively banned Internet gambling in the United States, is set to come into effect on June 1, 2010.

The article quotes poker legend Doyle Brunson and PokerStars representatives as saying they don't fear the feds, because poker is legal in the US in any case.

"I don't have a problem with the Justice Department, and I hope they don't have a problem with me," Brunson was quoted as saying.

For its part, PokerStars said it has legal opinions from five separate American law firms saying that it is not in violation of US laws. Unfortunately Full Tilt did not respond to Forbes' requests for a comment on the piece.

In the conclusion to the article, the author Nathan Vardi suggests a very plausible explanation for the federal authorities' lack of action so far. Quoting from a New Jersey-based adviser to online gambling firms, he suggests that prosecutors figure it is better to bluff than show their hand to a jury and risk losing.

The explanation makes a lot of sense. And if it holds any truth, that will no doubt encourage sites like PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker to keep doing what they are doing. Which is good news for American poker players.

The feature article can be found on newsstands in the March 1 edition of Forbes magazine - the one with Osama Bin Laden on the front cover.