www.silvervigilante.comLas Vegas barons are salivating at the possibility that legislation will be introduced this Spring in the House on their behalf. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) is hard at work accepting bribes and kickbacks, not to mention the sheer honor of rubbing shoulders with cronies in the Nevada desert, to form a coalition to support his measure against online gambling.
"I think the states' passage gives some incentive to the federal government to act," said Representative Joe Barton (R-Texas), who introduced an online poker bill in 2011 that failed. His plan is to introduce a bill this spring. "Whether you're for or against Internet gambling," said Barton, "you don't want 50 sets of state laws. You want uniformity."
Joe Barton clearly is a hack conservative, the sort that every individual across the land screaming that “once we get a Republican in the White House” we can go back to our redneck gun-toting Amerikana. But, Joe Barton there himself declares that he is a collectivist. States rights? What’s that??
Barton’s is not the only effort to reign in online gambling. Reid and Senator Jon Kyl (R-Arizona) are peddling the same trash legislation. Last year, their bill was rejected because it “unfairly favored Nevada by giving it too much regulatory clout and a cut of the regulatory fees.” Still, Congressional efforts are looking to stifle states moving forward
"We should have done it on a federal level ... we are going to try to figure out a way forward," said Reid at a recent press conference.
"Senator Heller believes federal legislation for online poker is crucial, and will continue to work with Senator Reid and like-minded colleagues to get a bill passed," said Chandler Smith, Heller's communications director.
Reuters laughably announces that “Nevada is expected to be the first state to go live with online gaming, likely by summer, according to regulatory and industry experts. The state will only allow poker.”
The funny thing is, as Congress tries to pass some sort of “uniform” regulatory framework, bitcoiners all across the US are happily ignoring this nonsense and doing what they want. Forbes’ Jon Matonis wrote of the staggering growth in the online Bitcoin gambling sphere:
With privacy, efficiency, growth, payment irreversibility, and cost savings as demonstrated by the above, it’s only a matter of time before the mainstream casino operators of Gibraltar and Malta realize the benefits of a gaming economy that leverages the ideal digital casino chip.
It’s All About The Taxes
Tax revenues of course are a big concern for the bureaucracy, as federal legislation generally divides tax revenue between the federal government states where the bettors reside and the state where the legal website is located. Certain proposals enable the federal government to take 5 percent to 10 percent of tax revenue. The American Gaming Association states that 85 countries have legalized gambling and about $35 billion is bet worldwide online year-by-year. This includes people in the US.
Caesars and other large casino operators like MGM Resorts International Ltd have for very long promoted federal legislation in the pursuits of monopolizing the market.
With Bitcoin, sure, there could be tax liability. While Silver Vigilante doesn’t dish out legal advice, there are some things to consider while laughing at Las Vegas and Washington dinosaurs hang on to their crumbling empires. Remember, anything you win in a bet is generally taxable income. The creeping arm of tyrants ensures you will pay some taxes, at least in most jurisdictions. Place a few Bitcoin bets and the taxman will likely stay off your back. Win millions upon millions and gain celebrity? Taxman is then much more likely to notice.
What’s great is that as the changing tide of history moves towards more restriction, arbitrages of state open up where freedom sings.
