I haven't heard any news on the ePassporte situation other than it's ceased services to poker sites due to some sort of DOJ investigation. Apparently the government still thinks it's perfectly legal for us to use the internet to bet on horse races and play the state lottery but it's not legal for us to play a skill game for money against other adults. Well technically, there's no law against us playing poker.  The only laws in place affect the providers of online poker, not the players.

Anyways, the point is instead of allowing us, fully grown adults, the freedom to choose how we spend our money like the rest of the civilized world does, our government picks and chooses how we get to spend our money - all the way down to which gambling games we can and can't play online (even though poker is the only "gambling" game based on skill).

The loss of ePassporte isn't a big deal for poker. Non-US players have a wide variety of deposit options and US players can still use their VISA cards, e-checks and several other methods to deposit.

The only problem here is our US government is acting like a nanny state - except it doesn't even have our best interests at heart! That would be bad enough in itself but with the exemptions of online horse race betting and lottery playing, the government shows an utter lack of respect for our rights. It's such blatant hypocrisy!

So instead of having a regulated, taxed industry, we have a quasi-legal industry that doesn't bring in any meaningful tax dollars to the US. The proponents of this prohibition claim that there is no legal safeguard against children gambling online. I guess they think it's safer for our children to force the entire industry offshore to shady, third-world countries.

If you want to make even a little difference, please join the Poker Player Alliance or at least check this link to make your voice heard. It's a form letter and it is automatically sent to your senators. All you have to do is type in your e-mail address and let the pre-written letter send itself. Seriously, it takes five seconds to do and it does make a difference.

Last, don't let all this crap get you down about poker. Poker is played by millions, if not a billion people around the world. It's an American past time and it's an established industry. Poker isn't going anywhere and neither should you. If you got stuck between sites after this mess, check out my poker site reviews on the home page or check the bonus page for some free money.