I have a confession to make. I am a criminal. Well, I am not right now, but I have been in the past.

OK, I’m not a criminal, but I have played online poker for money. According to the government, that’s a big no-no as evidenced by the shutdown of three major online poker sites a few weeks ago. Thankfully, the opposition is starting to get mobilized.

I currently don’t have any money in an account anywhere. My typical online poker experience involves putting $25 or so in an account, playing really low-limit games and eventually running out of money because I really only like to play for a diversion.

I’m not a big gambler, but have fun. The money is an entertainment expense as far as I am concerned, especially since I don’t make it a habit. I don’t think I have played for money online in three months or so.

Even though the recent new doesn’t really affect me, it still stinks. The continued efforts to portray online poker as some sort of horrible criminal enterprise is silly. I don’t subscribe to the “why are they doing this instead of stopping real criminals” theory since I believe government can pursue multiple kinds of criminals at the same time, but it does raise a lot of questions.

Poker in person is legal. What is so bad about the government blessing some form of the game online in the U.S., collecting taxes from the operators and potentially taxing the winnings of players? A lot of people want to play. These aren’t underground card games. This is big business. Why chase it away?

Gambling is here to stay, people. Let us enjoy it responsibly.