<![CDATA[Gawker: valleywag, gambling]]> http://tags.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/gawker.com.png <![CDATA[Gawker: valleywag, gambling]]> http://gawker.com/tag/valleywag/gambling http://gawker.com/tag/valleywag/gambling <![CDATA[Online Poker Mogul Killed in Alleged Hit]]> Being a gambling mogul in the internet age is apparently just as dangerous as it was in the mob-infested Casino age: The 36 year-old founder of an online poker site was murdered in his home in Sweden last week.

Andreas Oscarsson was the founder of PokerListings.com. He reportedly had homes in SoHo as well as in Sweden. He was shot to death in his bedroom on August 3. News reports make the crime sound like a targeted hit on Oscarsson; various theories are being floated (with little concrete support, that we can find), and most of them seem to indicate that this was not a total surprise. From Poker News Daily:

TwoPlusTwo member Loctus, who lives in Sweden, commented, "Police [have] been talking on the radio about it saying that it's quite probably [something] from his past that has caught up to him in this unfortunate way."

Bluff Europe Magazine reports a fantastical-sounding rumor that someone else named "Andreas Oscarsson" was killed last year in what may have been a case of mistaken identity; they also say there are rumblings of enemies:

As of now there are no further details except that police are uncertain of the exact motive, but reports emanating from Sweden suggest 'concrete threats' were made towards Oscarsson, according to friends and colleagues in Stockholm and Gothenburg.

[Pic: Pokerlistings.com]

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<![CDATA[Kentucky can take your domain name if it feels like it]]> A judge's ruling last month to allow Kentucky's governor to seize domain names to gambling websites is being upheld. One reprieve that the judge did grant was to let site operators keep their domain names if they install Internet filters to block out any IP address from Kentucky. [TechDirt]

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<![CDATA[Jason Calacanis takes first step — admitting he has a problem]]> The road to recovery from gambling addiction is a long one, but the first priority is admitting to yourself that you have a problem, which Mahalo founder Jason Calacanis did in his first email missive since quitting the blogosphere:

I've become addicted to playing poker because your constantly faced with confusion, and winning is trying to make sense out of nonsense.

Thankfully, studies have shown recovery is much easier when you have a supportive spouse. No scientific word on the effect of pets, but I can't imagine having two lovely bulldogs hurts. Just remember, Jason, one day at a time. (Photo by wmmarc)

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<![CDATA[Antigua could offer The Pirate Bay safe harbor]]> Antigua has fired a salvo against the United States in a long-simmering dispute over trade regulations, promising to give free reign to intellectual property piracy if the US doesn't allow Americans to access Antigua's lucrative online gambling businesses. The World Trade Organization awarded the tiny island nation the right to ignore American copyright laws last December if negotations fail. Antigua's hope is that the Motion Picture Association of America and software companies like Microsoft will pressure the US government to come to terms — after all, The Pirate Bay has been looking for an island paradise. Why doesn't Antigua threaten to publish details of the local tax shelters used by studio and tech executives and their financiers? That seems easier. (Photo by AP/Johnny Jno-Baptiste)

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<![CDATA[HAL 3000 will take you all in and clean you out]]> Photo by PlutorThe Wachowski brothers and James Cameron totally misunderstood the rise of the machines. It's more about cash than world domination.The right computer can already slap around humans at chess, checkers, backgammon, Scrabble, bridge and, yes, Connect Four. Now the bots are taking to poker.

According to reports, two of world's best poker players only narrowly beat a computer program at Texas Hold'em earlier this year. Dear online gambler, you are not even close to being one of the world's best poker players. Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick's proposed two-year jail terms and a $25,000 fine for online gamblers should be the least of your worries. John Henry lost to the steam hammer, and so will you. (Photo by Plutor)

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<![CDATA[Massachusetts governor proposes jail time for online gamblers]]> In a bill to allow three brick-and-mortar casinos in the Bay State, Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick has proposed two-year jail terms and a $25,000 fine for folks caught gambling online. Congressman Barney Frank, who wants federal legislation to regulate online gambling, asks, "Why is gambling in a casino OK and gambling on the Internet is not?"

Gambling and porn are two of the most consistent moneymakers in the world. Porn is, for the most part, perfectly legal and can be purchased online with a credit card. Gambling, including sports betting and poker, is a little more tenuous. In the United States, most credit-card companies will not allow betting to be made on a credit card, forcing players to use overseas services such as Neteller instead. Because of the lack of regulation, if players are cheated, they have little or no recourse. Some online gambling sites are publicly traded on European stock exchanges — here in the U.S. though, the offline casino monopoly is enforced through fiat by the government. (Photo by AP/Joe Cavaretta)

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