Partygaming - risks
 

What really are the chances that the US will succeed in making online poker illegal? Personally I can't see it although they may give it a go. Poker is a zero-sum game of skill. The futures markets are a zero-sum game too. If online poker were to be banned, might as well ban speculating in the futures markets too, right?

not quite
 

you can make your philosophical arguments if you will, but futures trading is legal, and regulated, by the CFTC in the U.S.

further, some futures are actually deliverable; there is a clear need for this type of trading.

gambling, on the other hand, is illegal in all but vegas, atlantic city and the indian casinos.

that's not to say that the u.s. will actively pursue online gambling (or more specifically, bar credit card companies from letting people use those services for online gambling). time will only tell. but don't delude yourself from realizing there's a real risk.

come to think of it ... isn't the real risk that it'll become LEGAL in the u.s.? barriers to entry quite low.

"come to think of it ... isn't the real risk that it'll become LEGAL in the u.s.? barriers to entry quite low"

Excellent point steveyo