I just finished a new article and posted it to my my Townhall.com blog:
Direct Digg link: http://digg.com/tech_news/Disregard_the_Lies_Online_Poker_Age_Verification_Works
Read/digg: http://digg.com/d1rGbs
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Disregard the Lies: Online Poker Age Verification Works
Rich Muny
May 15, 2009
A loud minority of Americans oppose allowing others the freedom to play poker. Rather than simply ignoring their neighbors who may be playing a hand or two of poker in their own homes with their own money, these anti-poker folks instead advocate a federal prohibition of online poker. The would-be banners know they cannot achieve the radical federal censorship of the Internet needed to implement this by merely citing their personal objections to others playing poker. Instead, they resort to over-the-top exaggerations and distortions to frighten people into supporting their positions. The most extreme of these is the ridiculous claim that underage youth can play online poker for real money with only a parent's credit card, as if the entire age verification process consists of checking an "I'm over 18" box!
Ever wonder why the would-be online poker banners continually talk about presumed underage participants but never cite examples of actual underage youth who have played? Even wonder why the banners state things like, "many online gamblers, no doubt, are children who have access to their parents' credit cards," without a shred of proof? After all, if there is "no doubt," surely there must be ample proof, right? Well, it is because these assertions are blatantly untrue. Either these anti-poker people have not even bothered to check the sites to observe the process about which they complain so bitterly, or they are simply not being honest. The truth is that every poker site offering services to Americans utilizes highly effective age and identity verification.
Age and identity verification at poker sites requires a drivers' license, a credit card, and a social security number. However, that's where it starts, not where it ends. Sites verify identification by using information from credit reports, consumer databases, and business databases to verify answers to a series of questions on specifics of job history, past addresses, past and current mortgage information, banking information, and other information known only to the account requester. Verification services also require bills and other identifying documentation to be faxed to them. As this is all after parents have presumably taken reasonable steps to secure their home Internet access and to monitor their children, this is virtually airtight. After all, sites have no interest is serving underage youth and don't want their business. Even if there were an unscrupulous site owner out there, he or she surely would not want this business simply because it would lead to a credit card charge-back.
Don't believe it? There's no need to take my word for it. Visit http://www.fulltiltpoker.com or http://www.pokerstars.com and try it out for yourself (either stop just prior to making an actual deposit or deposit just a token amount to complete the transaction). It is very unlikely that the would-be banners will soon be making a similar challenge to prove their foolish statements.
Age and identity verification systems are not only used for poker sites. They are used every day in America by banks, eBay, state lotteries, and horse racing sites like http://www.youbet.com, a Kentucky-sanctioned U.S. based horse race wagering Internet site.
Here is Michael Colopy, senior vice president of Aristotle Inc. (a leading provider of online identity and age-verification services for clients in the private and public sector), testifying before the House Financial Services Committee on the effectiveness of age verification systems for online poker:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR7UXL-Bzos
This is an important debate with huge stakes. Surely we should have real facts, not fear tactics. I urge the would-be banners to be more scrupulous with the truth.