Florida Athletic Director Admits Online Poker Gambling Is Legal

Stories have surfaced about a star on the Florida basketball team being involved in online gambling. The university has investigated the issue and has decided guard Nick Calathes has done nothing wrong.

The player himself has admitted that he has gambled online playing poker. He admitted he lost money doing so, but stopped short of admitting he did anything wrong. Head Coach Billy Donovan and Athletic Director Jeremy Foley have both come out strong defending their player.

"We reviewed everything very thoroughly and are satisfied with our results. We have no eligibility issues and are very comfortable that this issue is resolved based on our review," said Foley in a statement before Florida's season opening game against Toledo.

Donovan seemed ever more perplexed at why a player gambling online would be an issue for those in the media. "I think the unfortunate part in all of this is nobody on our team has done anything wrong, and it's amazing to me how stories can actually be written or talked about when someone's done nothing wrong," said Donovan.

An NCAA spokesman said that online poker gambling does not violate any NCAA rules. The rules are geared more towards sports betting than any other form of gambling.

The American government, however, is not so quick to admit that online poker is legal. They have passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and are now trying to enforce that law without defining what is legal and illegal online gambling.

Still, while the U.S. Government tries to curb online gambling, Donovan and Foley find nothing wrong or illegal about it. Calathes has admitted that he has gambled online and lost money, although he would not confirm the amount of his losses or that his father paid his debt.

The good news for the online poker industry is Stacey Osburn, an Associate Director of Public and Media Relations for the NCAA, claims Florida has done the correct thing by denying that online poker is illegal.

"All we say is that schools should follow local laws when conducting these investigations," said Osburn. Foley and Donovan feel they have followed local laws, and that there is nothing illegal with Calathes, or any other of their athletes, to gamble online playing poker.

November 15, 2008
Posted By Vincent Tapoglia III
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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