Citizens Urge Obama to Legalize Online Gambling

President Elect Barack Obama’s website called the “Citizens Briefing Book” was set up by his transition team in an effort to allow citizens to submit and promote suggestions about issues they feel are important for him to tackle during his term.  A suggestion has been posted on the site to “let online poker players in the United States play legally and without fear of prosecution” which has quickly gained support and has now been voted the second most popular idea guaranteeing visibility by the President elect.

The site is set up in a way that the more people who vote on a suggestion, the more likely it will rise to the top and will be given attention by Obama’s transition team.  A citizen by the name of AAHue posted the suggestion on Monday and it reads as follows:

Boost America’s Economy with Legal Online Poker

Let online poker players in the United States play legally and without fear of prosecution. Reform the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act to exempt poker, a game of skill, from the law. Boost the economy by letting American companies and American (sic) players make money and pay taxes instead of sending online poker businesses offshore. Protect online poker players by regulating the industry to ensure that no one is ever cheated.
The idea is already the second most popular on the site, falling second only to an entry entitled, “Bullet Trains and Light Rail”.  Nearly 10,000 people have voted on AAHue’s topic, quickly boosting it to the top and more than 120 people have commented on the post and that number is growing.  People must be registered to vote and comment on the ideas but the registration process takes less than a minute.

Obama’s transition co-chair Valerie Jarrett explains on a video posted on the introduction page that the site was created to bring the ideas and suggestions of every day regular citizens directly to the President elect.  So far, nearly 5,000 ideas and suggestions have been submitted for his attention.