Internet Poker

NEIN! Is the call from German states when asked if they want online gambling in their respective areas. As PokerNews.com columnist Haley Hintze reports:

An extensive ban outlawing almost all forms of online gambling has been ratified by at least 13 of 16 German states and is scheduled to go into effect on January 1st, 2008. The ban comes from a mid-December vote by each of the 16 German state legislatures to not allow any form of Web-based gambling or brokering of games over the Internet.

A Bloomberg report quoted German government spokesperson Eric Braum as follows, regarding the 13 states whose ratification had been finalized: "That's the required majority and we expect to have all the rest coming in by New Year's Eve."

The new law bans all Web-based gambling or brokering of all wagering and betting games over the Internet, specifically including the placement of bets with companies located in other countries. Also included is a ban on advertising for any form of Internet gambling, and one of the rules in the new law even allows the German states to order ISPs [Internet Service Providers] to block access to sites offering online gambling and to block money transfers to the same sites.

It seems like another case of the minority pressing their issue and value on the majority. As the European Union doesn't have a problem with online gambling and the German legislature can almost certainly expect some backlash from their mirroring the United State's decision to clamp down online wagering. The only difference is the new German law does not exclude certain types of wagers, where in the U.S. its still perfectly legal to make a daily double bet on a Canterbury Park race, or purchase a chance at a $100 million payday on the Powerball lottery.

I'm sure there's a logical explanation for both the German and US's decisions, but it doesn't seem like anyone is stepping up to the mike for the speech.