Online Poker and the U.S. Government

This is a subject that is near and dear to my heart. Online poker to some is considered gambling but to anyone that actually plays it, it is truly a game of skill. There's an old saying, "If poker is gambling to you...you're doing it wrong". The U.S. Government has decided that we as a people, should be told how to spend our entertainment money, should our choice in entertainment be online gambling. Now they don't have a problem if someone spends their entire paycheck on scratch off lottery tickets or Powerball numbers. Because these proceeds go to a worthy cause, their pockets. The money from these goes into the state's coffers for some good programs, don't get me wrong, but with the amount of people playing these on a daily basis, why do taxes keep rising? The online poker industry was approximated to be worth 100 billion dollars last year. The U.S. is one of the few countries that does not seem to see the benefit in regulating this and wants to stop it completely. They are not screaming at the casinos when someone loses their house to a craps table, but if a normal person wants to throw 10 bucks at an online poker tournament, there's hell to pay. There is more than once dunce on Capitol Hill that needs to get their head out of their ass and see that by regulating and taxing online poker, just as they do the winnings in a casino, that this country could most likely be a whole lot better for it.