A group of about 100 people arrived in Washington this week to lobby for the legalization of online poker.  And considering that many of the 100 people are among America’s top poker players, it wouldn’t be wise to bet against them.

The latest in victimless-crime-nanny-state-neo-prohibition news comes out of Washington after state authorities seized computers from Betcha.com, a gambling site trying to float just under the letter of the law.

Online poker has (deservedly or not) gotten a bad reputation, and it’s actually illegal in the U.S.  It came as a bit of a surprise, then, when Yahoo launched a new site called Yahoo Poker.  The site’s not for kiddies, and it’s not a joke; players will use real money.

In the virtual world of Second Life, one can engage in just about every imaginable sort of commerce. Industries spanning from standard retail to prostitution offer the average Second Lifer a veritable cornucopia of possibilities, but it’s the virtual casinos that exist in the online world that are drawing the attention and ire of government agencies in the United States.

Second Life presents its residents with many unique opportunities for social interaction, commerce, and entertainment. Could virtual gambling be the next “feature” to be offered in Linden’s online world? If so, what would the offline legal ramifications look like?

In the weeks prior to Congress’ ban on online gambling, which passed in early October, the top two gambling sites on the Net saw huge spikes in US visitor traffic, according to comScore.

The US Justice Department is making clear that only certain types of gambling are okay online and there’s no exception for advertising agencies running campaigns for offshore sports betting companies. The penalty for running that campaign: a charge of racketeering and up to 20 years in prison.