Online poker players across the country have been dealt a losing hand. The federal government has started cracking down on the three largest online poker websites for fraud.
We had trouble finding online poker players tonight to tell us what they think about the crackdown, but the Prevention Network in Syracuse is all for it.
"The more that they shut these down, the better I think the community will be in general," said Colby Sutter, of the Prevention Network. "The harder it is to get the access to it, the better it will be for the community."
Meanwhile, millions of Americans will now have to turn to other websites or casinos. But if you search "online poker" into Google, you'll see it's slim pickings. Most of the websites on the first page of searches display the same message from the federal government, reading:
"This domain has been seized by the FBI pursuant to an Arrest Warrant in Rem obtained by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and issued by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York."
You can read the rest of the message here.
Sutter said these online gambling websites can be addictive, and likens the pleasure we get in the brain from online gambling to that of a cocaine addiction. He said he knows the government is not stepping in because of addiction problems, but sees it as a win nonetheless.
Do you play online poker? Have you been affected by the shutdown? Let us know.
