It would appear that Yahoo! [[YHOO]] is trying to do whatever it can to raise the end-game price, for whenever it is that they sell out to Google, Microsoft, or even someone else. Yahoo! has long been considered to be a more “family-oriented” internet hegemony, much more of a “portal” than its biggest competitors, namely Microsoft and Google. But today Yahoo! just unleashed revealed something that’s not exactly along the same line as the rest of their online suites: Yahoo! Casino.

The precise origins of poker aren’t known. Some say the origins are German from the game pochspiel which has an element of bluffing. Others suggest it comes from an eighteenth-century French game, poque. Still another theory is that it evolved from the Hindu word “pukka”.

In the United States of America and several other countries, online gambling for real-world cash is considered highly illegal – as such, Yahoo! claims that their online gamble-for-real-money outfit is technically not open to US users – though technical limitations probably aren’t extensive given the fact Yahoo! has opened up their gambling portal for just about every other country on the globe, and all the bank accounts that come with it. Yahoo! is hosting Yahoo! Gambling in the United Kingdom where online gambling is allowed.

It’s sad to see that this is what Yahoo! has become, but it’s quite clear that they’re just doing what they can to increase viewership and make themselves a more valuable acquisition subject – regardless of the cost to their image and family-friendly history.