Many disappointed gamblers gather together to discuss their country's ban of internet gambling. On October 13, 2006, President George W. Bush signed a bill into affect that banned internet gambling. More specifically, banks and other credit cards, e-wallets, etc, which transfer the money back and forth. Though many see it as a clear-cut case of Christian values being forced upon a “free” country, the logical see it as nothing more than the government's way of cracking down on tax evasion.

If a person visits one of the United States' legitimate casinos, i.e. one of the Trump monstrosities in Atlantic City, then he or she is taxed on their winnings. But if that same person has free reign to slowly drain $50,000 from their internet account, $3,000 at a time, how would it be taxed? Regardless of what is true and what is false, this situation is sticky for all gambling lovers.

This Nation of Nations, which was constructed to be an equal opportunity land, by the people and for the people, has always been about the few, discarding the many. In ancient Rome, members of the senate would crucify a citizen for not paying homage to the gods. Even in Tudor England, 2,000 years later, men and women were slaughtered for not abiding to the chosen faith.

The United States of America was supposedly better than that. Since its inception, people have fought hard just to live. All the while, non-believers have been crucified due to some black book which has herds of people believing they can reside in the belly of a whale. Not that religion is evil by and large. People in power just tend to take things to the extreme. And for the United States, this is the first among many, many things that make the powers-that-be total hypocrites. They're supposedly fighting religious fanaticism, yet they demonstrate and impose their misguided righteousness on their citizenry's pastimes.

The bible clearly states, depending on which thumper you ask, that gambling is a sin against God almighty himself. So even if the legislation to ban gambling has nothing to do with America's affinity for ghostly obsession, it will be a cold day in Hell before the 99% religious congress ever does anything to overturn the decision. If only that were the real reason for the ban on gambling, it may be simpler to swallow the bitter pill.

As gamblers, we can eat a teaspoon of sugar while attempting to backdoor the crazies. But it's deeper than that. It's more important than tradition. It has to do with money. Sure, you would think that the government stands to profit by letting us play, but they won't. How many gamblers would actually report their winnings honestly?

Let us not forget that the Republican Party is all about family values. If John Q loses his money gambling, Jenney Q and Johnny JR are without a breadwinner. Not to mention that John can't pay an outrageously high percentage of his paycheck if he loses his job.

The UIGEA says that we cannot deposit or profit from online gambling, but they left us a loophole that the 400-pound elephant can easily jump through.

As of now, we're left as a group to find alternative means of funding our habits. If you believe you have a right to gamble online then go for it! Run a quick Google search and find out about dozens of methods you can use to fund the casino or poker room of your choice. The world, as crazy and hopeless as it is today, will not change anytime soon. The best thing we can do is jump in a game to take our minds off it.