The Federal Government has no constitutional authority to prohibit or regulate any personal activities of American citizens. But they try and do! In 2006, a sneaky little amendment called TITLE VIII--UNLAWFUL INTERNET GAMBLING ENFORCEMENT was added to H.R.4954 SAFE Port Act. This bill was needed to help secure our many ports in the United States. Republican Senator Bill Frist and others, felt the need to push through an amendment to control online gaming, targeting online poker mainly, but leaving the ability to bet on horses online. (Can you say special interests!)

This amendment made millions of Americans instant criminals to the federal government, just for playing the game of poker. There is nothing criminal about an adult partaking in a game of skill with others who enjoy the game as well. This amendment also made the banks the enforcers of this new prohibition on our citizens' activities. Making all banks agents for the federal government. Banks are required to make judgments on transactions done by their clients. If a bank believes that a transaction has anything to do with online gaming then they are legally required to deny it. So American citizens' transactions are constantly being examined for so called online gaming activities. Your transactions, even if you don't play online poker!

This action by the Legislative Branch is nothing new. We must hold all our representatives accountable for attacking our rights and freedom. We must make them understand that we are not their children. We are their bosses!

Right now, there is current active legislation trying to restore the rights of poker players. This bill H.R. 5767 proposes to give the rights back to players and place the prohibition on the federal government where it belongs, keeping them from interfering with Americans' activities. I support H.R. 5767 and any bill that restores your rights as Americans.

UPDATE on H.R 5767: This bill has been struck down in the House Financial Services Committee. Video of Ron Paul comments during meeting before it was struck down. Click Here

There are still four other bills in Congress to try and help in the matter of Online Gaming. The one with the most promise right now is H.R. 2046. This bill has much more regulation then H.R. 5767 which was the simplest bill to get online gaming back in action.