Corporate Greed Changing Face of Online Poker Forever

[Pov]

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""Unregulated monopolies like utilities excepted?" In the US? They're heavily (and illogically) regulated,"

I think it would be difficult to argue that an unregulated monopoly would never screw it's customers.

Please continue on the illogic of utility regulation. I'm interested in hearing a case for total deregulation.

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It's actually really easy since unregulated monopolies don't exist long enough to do it. They will try to screw the customer as fast as they can and then they won't be a monopoly anymore. Someone else will move in. Even if they don't screw their customers someone will probably move in. 100 years ago there weren't enough large sources of capital for this to happen, but it's a virtual certainty now. The only thing that prevents it is regulation.

Regulation does not serve the consumer in the long run though it may reduce short term variance at the expense of overall expectation. A totally free market will always balance itself. SE's complaining is part of this free market process. The Internet is a beautiful thing partially because it is so easy for new businesses to enter the market. If the sites move their rake too high then people will leave and new sites will take over. If the companies go out of business with the lower rake then the higher rake will stay and we'll have to get used to it. Some marginal winners will stop playing, shrinking the market and only the better run sites will remain. Someone will have a better idea of how to do something and they'll take over while someone else fades away. That's capitalism.

[FlFishOn]

Yes, yes, we're in agreement here but...Explain how my electric utitity faces any chance in the coming 20 years of facing competetive pressure? I don't see it.

Now cable TV, I understand. When my basic bill reached $25 in 1999 I pulled the plug and never watched the thing again. They now face some competetion but the price is not falling. Yet.

[KJ o]

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It's actually really easy since unregulated monopolies don't exist long enough to do it.

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In most cases you are correct, but the conspiracy nutter has a point when he specifically mentioned utilities.

There are natural monopolies, after all. They are not as common as the average European socialist politician would like to think they are, but they are there nevertheless.

Obviously, online poker sites are not one of them.