WannaTalkPoker.com

November 2008

Welcome to the friendliest poker community on the internet!

However you made it here, we think you'll be glad you did!
We offer a wealth of information and resources to the poker player--both the grizzled experienced ones, and the fresh-faced babes in the woods. No one is left out, and everyone profits. We organize regular freerolls and tournaments every week throughout the year, and run contests, and incentive programs to make hanging out at WannaTalkPoker a fun and enjoyable experience!

You can start by exploring the links above, and be sure to sign up at our forum, the heart and soul of the WannaTalkPoker community! It's fast, free and easy, and it'll be the best decision you've ever made!

Register at the WTP FORUMS, and start posting today!!!

Most Recent News and Urgent Announcements:

The Summer's Biggest Event Yet!!!
Would you like to help represent your country and contribute to its domination?

Well, now’s your chance by playing the WTP World War 3 (WW3) poker tournament, so get your fellow countrymen – er – poker teammates, and join the fun!

More information to follow, but here’s the highlights:

* Each team will be made up of 4 players from the same country
* All players are guaranteed to play in 2 tournaments, and most (if not all-depending on number of teams) will advance to play a 3rd tournament – the FINAL DOMINATION GAME.
* The tournaments
(a) 4 individual tournaments, one for each member of each teams to play
(b) 1 qualifying tournament where all players from all teams will play
(c) The final domination tournament where players from top 4 teams with the most points will battle it out to claim a team victory.
* There will be team prizes, individual prizes, and surprise contests throughout.
* Each team must have 4 players from the same country and 1 player designated as the captain.

Find out more in the FORUMS!
--Friday, June 20 2008

WannaTalkPoker Takes the Next Big Step!
Here we are, after a fantastic fling with spring, and our community is ready to enter another big fling: with Carbon Poker!

We've spent the last two years at the same sites, and enjoying ourselves in the process, but sometimes, to make an omellete...well, you know the rest...

We're excited about this move, and have added new contests, new bounties, and new ways to get the cash along the way--so jump in and join the fun!
--Saturday, May 3 2008

Merry Christmas 2007!
I find it hard to believe that four years ago today, I was just a couple of months into taking over WannaTalkPoker. I've made many friends over those intervening years, and developed respect for many people I might otherwise never have communicated with at all. While we may not have met in person, I feel it safe to say many of us have "met" online. Many of our friends have come and gone, many have returned, and many have yet to come back--for that matter, many have yet to leave-- but through it all remains a strong bond we all share, not only in poker, but in civil, intelligent online interaction. I think we all know this is a rare thing in this time of chatroom barbarism, and we appreciate it all the more for its rarity.

Four years, and yet, here I am still. I almost wasn't. I suppose I could have just aimed for the fast money four years ago, but that wasn't what the whole point was. It still isn't. It was about building a unique, intelligent, and open poker community, unlike any other on the 'net.

If you had asked me three or four months ago if I'd still be here today, or if WannaTalk would still be here today, I'm not sure what my answer would have been, but I have a good idea I'd have pulled the plug on the whole project. Running a site and community like this is a thankless job, and a time-consuming one, one that over time can weigh heavily on one's shoulders. If it weren't for the timely intervention of your WannaTalkPoker Senate, I wouldn't have this opportunity to even write this...and it's a fine job they've done so far. They've taken a struggling site, and turned it around 180 degrees, and at the rate things are growing, I have no doubt they'll make this the top poker forum on the net before 2008 is out. (Am I exaggerating? Maybe a bit, but I predict not by much!)

As I said, running a site like this takes drive and energy, and a fresh view on things. That the Senate was able to make things work where I couldn't is a prime example of that...and we have elections for two new seats coming in 2008, with another set of elections following those! Have you considered stepping forward and helping lead WannaTalk into the coming years? Think about it--you will be part of one of the most amazing things ever to happen in an online poker community!

Four Years...

Merry FOURTH Christmas to all my friends and fellow WannaTalkers: May you get everything you wanted for Christmas this year, and may you and yours have all the best fortune in the year to come!
--Tuesday, December 25 2007

Frank Introduces Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act of 2007
Washington, DC - Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) today introduced H.R. 2046, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act of 2007 that would create an exemption to the ban on online gambling for properly licensed operators, allowing Americans to lawfully bet online.

The Act establishes a federal regulatory and enforcement framework to license companies to accept bets and wagers online from individuals in the U.S., to the extent permitted by individual states, Indian tribes and sport leagues. All such licenses would include protections against underage gambling, compulsive gambling, money laundering and fraud.

“The existing legislation is an inappropriate interference on the personal freedom of Americans and this interference should be undone,” said. Rep. Frank.

In 2006, the House passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, restricting the handling of payments by U.S. financial institutions for unlawful forms of Internet gambling. That law prohibits the use of payment instruments by such institutions to handle the processing of any form of Internet gambling that is illegal under U.S. federal or state law.

Traditional forms of legalized gambling already exist in nearly every state. By continuing to prohibit Internet gambling in the U.S., the U.S. has left Americans who choose to gamble online without meaningful consumer protections. The proposed legislation would institute practical and enforceable standards to bring transparency to Internet gambling and provide consumers the protections they expect and deserve.

The Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing entitled, “Can Internet gambling be regulated to protect consumers and the payments system?” at a date to be determined in June, 2007.



Q&A About the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act of 2007:



LICENSE REQUIREMENTS

How will the government ensure that the proper consumer protections are put in place?

No applicant would receive a license unless the following requirements with respect to any Internet bet or wager, at a minimum, are met:

• Safeguards to ensure the individual placing the bet or wager is 18 years of age or older

• Safeguards to combat fraud and money laundering and compulsive gambling

• Mechanisms to ensure all appropriate taxes and fees are collected from individuals and the licensees

• Safeguards to ensure that the individual placing the bet or wager is physically located in a jurisdiction that permits that form of Internet gambling



What safeguards would be implemented to ensure that licenses are granted only to qualified Internet gambling operators?

Applicants for a license would be required to provide comprehensive financial statements and corporate structure documents, and to agree to be subject to U.S. jurisdiction and all applicable laws related to Internet gambling. No license would be granted to any applicant convicted of a criminal violation of any law relating to gambling, money laundering, fraud or other financial laws. Licensing would be handled by the U.S. Treasury through its anti-money laundering agency, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).



CONSUMER SAFETY

How does the bill protect consumers?

The framework set forth in the bill would for the first time effectively regulate Internet gambling, thus making it possible to address underage and compulsive gambling, neither of which are prevented under prohibition regimes. Regulation combined with proven technology would establish a system of effective controls to block children and compulsive gamblers from gambling.

How can restrictions against underage Internet gambling be enforced?

Existing technology can enforce requirements that licensed Internet gambling operators restrict minors’ access to Internet gambling. For example, when registering at a gambling site, the customer would be required to provide a range of information including name, address, date of birth, telephone number and details of an identity document, such as a driver’s license or social security number. This information would then be passed on to the Payment Service Provider (PSP) and run through the Know Your Customer (KYC) system to confirm that the data being provided matches against several separate sources of information and is in fact accurate. The operators may also have KYC systems in place.

Operators could also request a physical copy of documentation, such as a utility bill and/or a copy of the customer’s identity document, for further verification.

Is it possible to identify and enforce restrictions on compulsive gambling?

There are a number of techniques that can be used, from systems that limit the total amount of funds that may be wagered based on credit limits, to the use of public databases that include details used to identify persons who have chosen to exclude themselves from online gambling. Customers could be added to this list at their own request.

Additionally, limits can be placed on the number of transactions a customer can put through on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, by the operator acting alone, by the credit card company, by the PSP, or by all three. In the event that an unusual spending pattern is noticed, these transactions could automatically be put on hold for further investigation.



FINANCIAL INTEGRITY OF INTERNET GAMBLING TRANSACTIONS

How will a license and regulation framework protect against money laundering and fraud?

Funds entering a gambling operator’s system are already resident in the banking network somewhere. That is, the funds have previously been deposited into a bank account at some stage, subjected to stringent KYC requirements, and which greatly increases the traceability of any funds entering the system. All transactions can also be checked at the time of authorization against a number of anti-fraud, money laundering and terrorism databases.

What additional security measures could be put in place to protect the consumer from merchant fraud?
Payment Service Providers could set-up escrow accounts for each licensee in which money is set aside for a period of time to ensure that when a financial transaction is successfully contested the operator immediately refunds the consumer. Therefore, any claim regarding the use of an unauthorized credit card could automatically result in a full repayment to the principal credit card holder.



STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES

Would individual states and Indian tribes have the option to opt-out of legalized Internet gambling?

To protect States’ and Indian tribes’ rights to control gambling activities within their respective geographic borders, the Act permits States and Indian tribes either to prohibit Internet gambling activities or impose limits on various types of Internet gambling activities.

Is it possible for restrictions to be enforced if individual states decide to “opt-out” from permitting persons in their states from Internet gambling?

Yes. In using the Internet, a customer’s IP address is broadcast to the operator, which can then be used to identify the state in which a customer resides with a 99 percent level of accuracy. This information is also made available and compared to the customer’s registration information. In the event the information differs, the transaction is not approved and the customer is prevented from engaging in Internet gambling.



SPORTS BETTING

If professional sports leagues and college associations decide to opt-out from allowing bets and wagers on their sporting activities, could that be enforced?

Yes. Under the proposed legislation, all licensed Internet gambling operators would be prohibited from accepting bets or wagers on sports leagues or associations that have opted-out. In the event of a violation, the operator’s license could be withdrawn and the operator may be prohibited from applying for a new license. As part of its contract with the Internet gambling operator, the PSP would be required to enforce these requirements throughout the collection and payment process.

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/financialsvcs_dem/21frank_004_xml_(2).pdf

--Thursday, April 26 2007

2007 The Year of the Poker Player?
It will be at WannaTalkPoker! Come on by the forums today, and find out more!
--Tuesday, February 20 2007

The SAFE Port Act has Passed!
You might ask what the passage of the SAFE Port Act has to do--if anything--with poker, and the answer is simple: it contains an Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement provision!

I know, the two are mutually exclusive, but hey, this IS the US governement we're talking about here. What this provision does, essentially, is make it difficult, if not nearly impossible for players in the US to fund their poker accounts. Of course, at this point, there are many ways to still do so, and internet poker is NOT dead, despite the best efforts of "our" representatives.

We still await the ultimate fallout of such a bill, as poker rooms and online casinos begin pulling out of the US market--we can expect those companies to go belly up soon enough--unecessarily.

We strive to keep everyone posted in the forums, as news breaks, so drop on by and join today!

Not to mention, we're packing our tournament schedule with freerolls, buy-ins and other contests designed to have fun!

So, Ante Up!
--Monday, October 2 2006