 Religious
Right Pressing for Senate Vote on Online Gambling
The Baptist Press
focused on the online casinos legislation facing a reconvened
U.S. Congress this week, looking toward the resumption of
legislative activity on September 5 and describing legislation
supported by pro-life and pro-family Americans as "...hanging in
the balance." The prohibition of online casinos is one of the
legislative items that the religious right wants to see banned,
apparently.
The Senate and House of Representatives probably will have
little more than a month to deal with the online casinos
legislation before the November election, with the adjournment
date for this Congress set for October 6.
Bills that await passage by only one chamber when Congress
reconvenes include:
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which seeks to
ban most online casinos. The House voted 317-93 for the online
casinos measure in July, but the Senate has not acted on it.
“We have been working on an (online casinos) bill for years,”
Barrett Duke commented about the online casinos legislation,
vice president for public policy and research of the Southern
Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission told the Baptist
Press. “Meanwhile, gambling predators have been suckering
millions of Americans into losing billions of dollars. It’s up
to the Senate to get this job done and shut down most of these
gambling sites. It would be tragic to come this close and fail.
The senators just need to hear from the voters.”
“All of these bills should be passed,” Duke said, including the
online casinos bill. “I can assure Southern Baptists that the
ERLC will continue to press for passage of every one of them. We
ask that all those who want to see our country become a more
moral, healthy, God-honoring nation get involved and make
themselves heard in Washington. Insisting on passage of these
bills is a great way to get started.”
It is clear that despite the worldwide success of online
casinos, much controversy still remains.
Millions of ordinary Americans gamble at online casinos on a
daily basis, despite the official prohibitions against such
online casinos, declares a new policy study by the American
Gaming Association. Internet gambling has exploded in recent
year, and the thousands of online casinos crowding the
marketplace create a brand new arena for casual and serious
gamblers in the United States. Are online casinos helping or
hurting the economy? Are online casinos posing moral or ethical
dilemmas? The debate continues…
“By driving all Internet gambling business to foreign entities,”
said author, lawyer and association consultant David O. Stewart,
“no jobs are created for American workers, no returns are earned
by American companies, and no tax revenues are paid to American
governments.”
Stewart concluded that the current disconnect between law and
reality also leaves American gamblers largely defenseless
against unregulated or under-regulated offshore internet
gambling casinos now estimated to number 2,500 worldwide.
The report on net gambling, which urged Congress to study the
issue, comes as Congress is on the brink of a crackdown on
gambling.
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