While the bureaucrats sort out the legal situation regarding online gambling in the U.S. there are innovative ideas coming out which aim to find alternative methods to legally gamble online.
Currently the status quo in the U.S. is still unclear as there is no federal policy regarding legalizing internet gambling. States like Nevada and Delaware are the leaders in adopting proactive legislation to make online poker a reality. Other states like California and New Jersey are following but there is still no nationwide policy being adopted. This situation has led to some clever minds that have come up with legal ways to find loopholes to legally enjoy online poker.
We reported back in October of one such company called Cafrino. As we reported this innovative company have come up with a system in which they do not take any deposits but rather offer a tournament like poker game in which players get to advance through stages in which they get to compete for real cash prizes. By doing this they are technically not breaking any U.S. laws and are currently up and running. While the authorities have still not interfered with Cafrino the question remains what the authorities will do if anything to close this legal loophole.
Another idea being proposed to exploit a legal loophole is that of Bitcoin. As anyone up to date knows that Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency which enables payments to anyone all over the globe. Bitcoin employs peer-to-peer technology and does not involve any banking systems. It is for this reason that many are floating the idea of utilizing Bitcoin to play legal online poker in the U.S. Several major online poker sites are seriously considering the Bitcoin option.
Sites like Calgary-based Infiniti Poker plan on accepting Bitcoin when it launches later this month, founder of Infiniti poker Michael Hajduk believes that they will succeed via Bitcoin in offering a legal option for U.S. players in online poker.” Because we’re using Bitcoin, we’re not using U.S. banks—its all peer-to-peer,” Hajduk says. “I don’t believe we’ll be doing anything wrong.”
Bitcoin is shrouded in mystery since its development in 2009 by a programmer known as Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin is a currently which is determined by demand lie any other currency. Currently each Bitcoin is trading at around $13 per Bitcoin. Millions use this peer-to-peer currency to purchase goods at merchants who accept this payment.
Hajduk’s idea to accept Bitcoin for U.S. players could be a winner as this will appeal to the online U.S. gambler who is looking to get back to gambling legally. It remains to be seen if the Justice Department will come up with some sort of excuse to ensure that sites like Infiniti Poker do not use a legal loophole operate online gambling. However it certainly seems an ingenious way to provide what many consider a basic right which is simply to be allowed to gamble as you please.