It has been a few weeks since Runner Runner, a film starring Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake premiered in the United States. The film, which was co-opted by the American Gaming Association (AGA) as the poster child and boogeyman of everything that is ostensibly wrong with the online poker industry in Costa Rica, seems to be having an immediate effect.

Readers of the Costa Rica Star who are not familiar with Runner Runner and its curious adoption by the powerful AGA to discredit online poker in this country should read our previous articles on this matter. Runner Runner is not likely to be included in any shortlists to be nominated to the Oscars, but as of today it continues to be profitable with nearly $60 million in box office numbers around the world.

The AGA strategy with Runner Runner can be simplified as follows: It is not only illegal for United States poker players to wire money to online gambling outfits in Costa Rica; it is also dangerous. The AGA wants the public to know that even though Costa Rica has no qualms in hosting data centers dedicated to the online gaming and wagering industry, the operators of these centers -which include major brands such as PokerStars- can be a cheating bunch like the nefarious entrepreneur played by Ben Affleck in Runner Runner.

The solution proposed by the AGA is simple: Take online poker away from Costa Rica and transfer it (and the millions of dollars it produces) back to the U.S. by the process of legalization. Why should U.S. online poker players risk a Runner Runner cheating scenario when they can play legally from their homes?

Immediate Effects

The strategy seems to be working. In less than a month, New Jersey will go live with legal online poker. PokerStars, the world’s most recognizable online poker brand is ready to operate in the Garden State; this is a brand that once had a major presence in Costa Rica, but it has been shifting its operations to the Isle of Man and other jurisdictions. PokerStars may keep its Latin American operations based in Costa Rica, but the company is clearly tired of dealing with the hassle of indictments and U.S. law enforcement agents freely barging into their offices.

Legal online casinos will debut in Delaware on Halloween. Pennsylvania is closely watching the developments and hopes to be next. California is contemplating a similar move with firms such as San Francisco’s PurePlay pushing the envelope, and Nevada legalized online poker some time ago.

U.S. players are the bulk of the online poker and gambling market, and for every state that legalizes these activities, Costa Rica will suffer a setback. There will be financial implications such as jobs lost and plans interrupted. To this end, companies providing online poker rooms are hardly to blame; it makes business sense for them to leave Costa Rica and return to the U.S.

Those poker firms that choose to remain in Costa Rica should concentrate on marketing the lifestyle and organizing live tournaments in communities such as Playas del Coco in Guanacaste, where players can land directly at the Liberia International Airport (LIR) and be transferred to a community that is seeing tremendous growth and interest by foreigners.