You may or may not be aware of the law which was signed by Bush a couple of days ago. It basically makes it illegal to take money from Americans in offshore gambling websites. This has resulted in chaos in the gaming industry (which is huge, 6 billion a year by industry estimates). Companies which were changing hands for hundreds of millions of dollars a couple of weeks ago suddenly went on the block and sold for a buck.

But it is interesting that the sites didn't actually close, and the companies actually did sell to somebody rather than close entirely (like my music store last year). This means that they will continue to operate.

The first big change is that many of them are now refusing to take money from Americans - and will just take their money from anywhere else in the world. This is temporary while the lawyers work on the problem. Turns out the big money in online poker comes from - you guessed it... Americans.

Maybe you remember all the assault weapons bans of ten-fifteen years ago. These likewise were huge money making ventures that suddenly were faced with no revenue stream. This is where the lawyers make their money. Every law has a loophole. The job of the lawyers is to find all the loopholes. You can buy pretty much any assault rifle today that you could've fifteen years ago. The only difference is that you might not get a flash suppresor or a pistol grip; which you would then buy from somebody else if you really wanted one. 

In a few months we'll come back and see that online poker is thriving, just as it always was - and they'll be taking money from Americans, just as they always have. We've found time and time again that you can't outlaw easy money. If the laws are unbeatable, the money will just go underground. It will always flow. But relax, we're nowhere close to underground gambling. You might have to wire your money to an insurance fund in Madagascar, but rest assured that the lawyers will find a completely legal way to take all that easy money off your hands.