what about that predict it website that allows you to bet on politics? Is politics a sport?
It says "All online gambling".
U.S. Now Says All Online Gambling Illegal, Not Just Sports Bets
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Re: U.S. Now Says All Online Gambling Illegal, Not Just Sports Bets
#12What does this say about prediction markets? I wouldn't implicitly consider them gambling, just as the financial markets are not precisely gambling.
It's splitting hairs IMHO. Lots of things we find acceptable are basically gambling like the stock/bond/futures markets, insurance, and prediction markets. Maybe a better answer is why we ban gambling at all. There are people who have a problem with it, but maybe a better solution is to get them help to break the cycle instead of banning it in some cases but not others.
Or any self-destructive behavior for that matter...
I think the problem is we don't know the exact point when a pleasure becomes a problem. Or, how to effectively help people even if we did know when they crossed a line.
Society will pay a price somewhere. It's just right now, we seem more willing to curtail our freedom in that area than we are to help those who make mistakes.
Re: U.S. Now Says All Online Gambling Illegal, Not Just Sports Bets
#13Does this affect video game loot boxes, then?
While unsavory, I feel like loot boxes are closer to a raffle than what we typically consider gambling, and to treat them as gambling would open up a serious gray area.
How in the world do you consider it a raffle? A raffle is when more than 1 person pays money ahead of time with some chance of winning a variety of prizes, and the odds are basically known depending on how many people bought the raffle tickets.
A loot box is literally "Pay $1 and see what you get!", and there are percentages behind what you can get (unknown to us). It's literally no different than buying a lottery ticket, except you always get something (maybe equivalent to the value of the lottery ticket) with a chance of getting something more valuable.
Now maybe they are adjusting lootbox percentages on the back-end so too many people don't get something unique if that's how you are trying to claim it's a raffle.. but I still don't think that makes it anywhere near the definition of a raffle.
Re: U.S. Now Says All Online Gambling Illegal, Not Just Sports Bets
#14Re: U.S. Now Says All Online Gambling Illegal, Not Just Sports Bets
#15> A coalition backed by billionaire casino executive Sheldon Adelson lobbied the Justice Department
Crony capitalism 101
Re: U.S. Now Says All Online Gambling Illegal, Not Just Sports Bets
#16> A coalition backed by billionaire casino executive Sheldon Adelson lobbied the Justice Department in 2017 to reconsider its 2011 decision that cleared the way for states to allow online gambling.
Adelson was a major financial supporter of Trump and the GOP in 2016 vis-à-vis the Future 45 Super PAC. His wife was recently awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This decision was bought and paid for.
Re: U.S. Now Says All Online Gambling Illegal, Not Just Sports Bets
#17> A coalition backed by billionaire casino executive Sheldon Adelson lobbied the Justice Department Crony capitalism 101
The best democracy money can buy.
Re: U.S. Now Says All Online Gambling Illegal, Not Just Sports Bets
#18As it may be of interest, here's the related portion of the Wire Act: Whoever being engaged in the business of betting or wagering knowingly uses a wire communication facility for the transmission in interstate or foreign commerce of bets or wagers or information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers on any sporting event or contest, or for the transmission of a wire communication which entitles the recipient to…
By my most literal interpretation of this law my inlaws can now be arrested for our march madness bracket. This seems absurd that we've let even this level of ambiguity come to pass in a country that used to pride itself on personal liberty; especially when the law was paid for by clear corporate cronyism and special interests to benefit from its passage.
Can anyone legally versed tell me why I shouldn't be this incensed?
Re: U.S. Now Says All Online Gambling Illegal, Not Just Sports Bets
#19Does this affect video game loot boxes, then?
My question as well. Could the gamers make a case and start a class action against the developers if they go too far?
Re: U.S. Now Says All Online Gambling Illegal, Not Just Sports Bets
#20> A coalition backed by billionaire casino executive Sheldon Adelson lobbied the Justice Department in 2017 to reconsider its 2011 decision that cleared the way for states to allow online gambling. Adelson was a major financial supporter of Trump and the GOP in 2016 vis-à-vis the Future 45 Super PAC. His wife was recently awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This decision was bought and paid for.
Just like countless "regulations" in the past. The 2008 financial crisis was rampant with this stuff. The number of small banks dwindled significantly under new laws while the "big 5" old banks flourished.
The "too big to fail" era left the US with fewer choices in the marketplace, thanks to the political elite and their revolving door connection with big industry.
Crony capitalism is just as bad as authoritarian socialism, but at least the latter feigns helping the regular person, instead of lining the pockets of the elite while claiming "free markets".
The papers should be lashing out against this type of stuff. But I guess none of the left-leaning major papers want to seem soft on 'regulation'.