Do you think online gambling (eg. Poker) is corrupt? If so Has anyone ever won a lawsuit against them?

Question

It seems the companies that run these can get away with anything. Bottom line is the Government collects huge revenue in taxes from these companies so they turn the proverbial blind eye. Yes, people have a responsibility for their own actions but they also deserve not to be defrauded and be misled or manipulated. Either way its the government that always wins

Answer 1

yes.... just remember a fool and his money are easily parted

Answer 2

There is one site, PokerSpot, that went under a few years ago. The owner, poker player Russ "Dutch" Boyd, began using player deposits to pay expenses. This is a huge violation of ethical business principles, but since it was done offshore (I think Antigua), there wasn't really any recourse.

The "governments" that you refer to aren't governments like the U.S. government. Almost all these sites are run out of locations like Antigua, Gibraltar, or Isle of Man. These are havens for people that want to run these types of companies. The U.S. government don't get any money from this, which the cynic in me says is the reason that it got banned in the U.S.

However, despite the potential for abuse, the industry is surprisingly clean. I wouldn't say that the sites are corrupt, and the industry operated largely without issues until the U.S. law was passed last fall. I don't know what it is you're referring to in your post, because with all of the respected sites (Party Poker, PokerStars, etc.) there's never been an issue with people being defrauded, having money taken from them, etc. In fact, firms like Party Poker are listed on the London Stock Exchange. Obviously this doesn't eliminate the potential for fraud, but they do have to answer to investors frequently and assess their financial positon.

These days, people that play online poker talk a lot. There are communities built around people that play the game. If any site were to attempt to defraud a player, tons of people would know about it instantly. There are no shortage of sites out there to play, and any one that tries to mess with a player's money can be easily replaced. It's true that there are limited official controls on these firms, but there is a sort of self-regulating mechanism in the market. I don't see where your concerns are coming from.