 85%
of Americans against Banning Online Casinos
The worldwide phenomenon
of online casinos has been gaining momentum rapidly for some
time but if two bills are passed in the Senate, the breaks will
surely be applied to online casinos.
The first bill to be passed by the house judiciary committee -
the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act – would effectively ban
online casinos in the United States by giving police the means
to block transmissions and by outlawing the transfer of funds
for gaming purposes.
The second bill – Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act
would ban credit card companies from performing transactions
between players and online casinos.
Despite the two bills being supported by the house judiciary
committee and many others, there are those who believe that by
banning online casinos this is an infringement on the rights of
American Citizens, to choose how they spend there free time.
There is another bill waiting in the sidelines that will enable
the online casinos industry to be studied and the possible
option of regulating and licensing the industry.
Many support groups of this study believe that an outright ban
now is too hasty a decision to be made without getting the facts
straight and understanding this complex issue. These opponents
of the ban also feel that the bills, that will potentially ban
online casinos, are uneven as they will allow for bets to be
made on horse racing, fantasy sports betting and lotteries.
The worldwide online casinos industry generates between $12 and
$15 billion a year with over half of that figure coming from
American Citizens and while many feel that Americans need to be
protected against rogue offshore casino sites, it is still up to
the individual to choose how they spend their hard earned cash.
As it stands, American citizens have the potential to blow their
weekly food budget on lottery tickets or are able to sit in a
dark house because they lost their electricity bill money down
at the Indian casino, so why should gambling in online casinos
be any different?
There is the issue of underage gambling in online casinos which
does give cause for concern. A teen has better prospects of
stealing their parent's credit cards and supplying false
information to enter online casinos, than trying to enter a land
based casino with a fake ID.
Washington State has already put these potential bans into
practice by banning online casinos outright in their state, but
this ban has already proved to have taken a step too far. One
online poker information site was closed down because it
advertised a link to online casinos. The Seattle Times was also
advised to stop running their regular poker column which means
that this ban could infringe Americans right of freedom of
speech which is bordering on the ridiculous.
With 85% of Americans against banning online casinos, it is
hoped that the Senate will decide to take a more moderate stance
and regulate the industry rather than take away freedom of
choice.
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