All things considered, it was a very fair report. There is no other way to look at it.

Last night's 60 Minutes covered online poker's worst moment in full detail, from the popularity, to the insider cheating, to the lack of punishment.

It was cold hard truth.

And for many online gamblers, it really was a wake-up call. There are literally millions of online poker players - and their spouses - and I'm sure that this report shocked more than a few of them. And that is why this report was necessary.

For me, the scariest part is when the Kahnawake grand chief is asked why they didn't suspend the licenses of the companies involved, and he answers, "Well, they were afraid that if that was happened and the rug was pulled out from under them, so to speak, that the players wouldn't be paid."

Excuse me?

Exactly what kind of gaming commission are you if you can't even ensure that cheated players will be paid? Apparently, companies licensed in Kahnawake are not required to post bonds or deposits ensuring that they can pay all players.

That, in itself, is pretty scary. Protecting player deposits is assumed to be the first priority of any gaming commission. That does not appear to be so in Kahnawake.

Now, over the last decade 60 Minutes has covered online gambling fairly positively several times. For that reason, a lot of people in the industry were semi-hopeful that this report would discuss the scandal and then move on to something more positive, such as the need for regulation.

Well, anybody who watched the report definitely came away thinking that the online poker industry needs regulation, but I'd hardly call it a positive report.

But, again, this was needed.

The only way online poker will ever be trusted is if reports like these force the government or some other regulatory body to step in and ensure the games are fair.

And anybody who is pissed at 60 Minutes for the negative report should think about the report that could have been.

For one thing, lets remember that these cheating scandals were inside jobs. Now imagine if 60 Minutes started asking questions about the fairness and security surrounding the online casino games.

That could have gotten messy.

Now all of this being said, I do feel bad that the entire online poker industry got thrown under the bus due to the actions of a few bad apples who ultimately were all working for the same company.

There are a lot of good honest online gambling sites out there, and 60 Minutes chose not to mention this. But in their defense, how could they know which sites are honest?

Until there is a regulatory structure with teeth, we'll never know which games are fair and which are not.

Message to Barney Frank... The ball is in your court. Please. Clean up this mess.