Perhaps THEY are playing "poker" with online players. They can't get the casinos, but they CAN scare away their customers.
The test will come when they attempt to jail online players.
There are laws here in the UK which impose seemingly disproportionate penalties, but judges do not impose them in the vast majority of cases (as well as this, our prisons are too full
)
One thing polititians fear the most is losing their jobs (they will say, and do, whatever they feel it takes to keep them). If they began to jail online players, it might cause a stink in the media, with comparisons made with state sponsored monopoly gambling, and perhaps even the light or non-existent penalties imposed on the polititians for their own immoral conduct while in public office.
I would suspect that those not into online gambling have little idea about this draconian law, but if they did, it could well put them off the legalised forms of online gambling that states might which to add to their monopolies.
EU state monopolies are in retreat, as the European court has ruled most of them unlawful under free trade laws, since some EU states licence online gambling, and argue they should be able to offer the service to ALL other EU states.