Alfonso D’Amato, former senator from New York, said that prohibitions are a very serious mistake in the U.S. government. Currently a chairman of the Poker Players Alliance, D’Amato shared his opinion with a journalist from the Boston Herald. The article was published last Monday.

According to the former senator, only a meaningful regulation of online poker will have positive consequences for all parties involved: players, children, taxpayers, the economy and the society as a whole. He mentioned events occurred in 1920, when gambling prohibitions failed.

As explained by D’Amato, server restrictions force players to use fake identities or less trustworthy financial systems to pay for their bets. As a result, it is harder to enforce law and identify money-laundering situations.

From his point of view, playing poker online is the 21st Century version of an American tradition. D’Amato defined poker is a game of true skill and an American pastime that should not be banned for all those that enjoy playing responsibly.