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Online gaming ban questioned
By Aravind Adiga
Published: June 26 2000 21:01GMT | Last Updated: June 27 2000 01:14GMT
Many religious groups and federal agencies who oppose internet casinos have lost faith with long-delayed measure to ban online gambling the US Congress finally looks set to pass.
They fear there are loopholes in the lawmakers' cure for internet gambling that may actually encourage its spread.
The internet gambling prohibition act, likely to come to a vote soon before the House of Representatives, is the first measure that explicitly outlaws gambling over the internet. US-based internet service providers and portals would be required to cut out any links to gambling sites anywhere in the world, although gamblers could not be stopped from going direct to a foreign online betting site.
A version of the bill was introduced in the Senate last year as a response to the proliferation of offshore online casinos, which have made online gambling one of the fastest growing illegal activities in the US. Gambling of any kind is illegal in many states. Revenues from internet gambling are projected to double from $1.5bn this year to $3bn in 2002, according to a survey. While these figures represent only a small portion of the overall gambling industry in the US, online casinos and sports betting centres have raised fears that they target vulnerable groups.
University administrators believe students are especially susceptible because of their immersion in internet culture and their easy access to credit cards. The National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) has been a strong advocate of the bill, reflecting fears that online gambling is a danger to the integrity of college sports.
However, many supporters, including some Christian groups, began withdrawing their endorsement of the bill as it got bogged down and attacked by lobbyists during its passage through a thicket of Congressional committees.
Many anti-gambling groups claimed that the horse racing industry and other gaming activities had used their influence with senior legislators to riddle the bill with so many loopholes that it could no longer curb online gambling - and could even increase its scope in some cases. In its amended form, the bill would allow restricted betting on horse racing, dog racing and some other sports.
A spokesman for the Traditional Values Coalition, a Christian lobby group, told a Congressional committee that the bill could fan the spread of gambling throughout America: "This bill is a Trojan horse for the horse racing, dog racing . ..and sports betting companies," it said.
Many law enforcement officials are also voicing concerns. Kevin DiGregory, a Justice Department attorney, said the bill would "allow individuals, including children and compulsive gamblers, to use the internet to engage in activities that would be prohibited in the offline world".
Senator Jon Kyl and Congressman Bob Goodlatte, the bill's sponsors, have defended it, pointing out that online gaming activities permitted under the bill must be conducted in a "closed-loop, subscriber-based" system inaccessible from the open internet. Opponents assert that such a system could include one with millions of users.
Many anti-gambling advocates feel that an alternative proposal in Congress to ban the use of credit cards to place bets over the net represents their best chance of cracking down on online casinos.
However, as the much-maligned measure approaches a final vote in Congress, some opponents of gambling feel that a flawed bill that could be amended in the future is better than no bill at all.
TRY THIS
http://www.bettorsworld.com/web/forums/showthread.php?t=25197
Online gaming ban questioned
By Aravind Adiga
Published: June 26 2000 21:01GMT | Last Updated: June 27 2000 01:14GMT
Many religious groups and federal agencies who oppose internet casinos have lost faith with long-delayed measure to ban online gambling the US Congress finally looks set to pass.
They fear there are loopholes in the lawmakers' cure for internet gambling that may actually encourage its spread.
The internet gambling prohibition act, likely to come to a vote soon before the House of Representatives, is the first measure that explicitly outlaws gambling over the internet. US-based internet service providers and portals would be required to cut out any links to gambling sites anywhere in the world, although gamblers could not be stopped from going direct to a foreign online betting site.
A version of the bill was introduced in the Senate last year as a response to the proliferation of offshore online casinos, which have made online gambling one of the fastest growing illegal activities in the US. Gambling of any kind is illegal in many states. Revenues from internet gambling are projected to double from $1.5bn this year to $3bn in 2002, according to a survey. While these figures represent only a small portion of the overall gambling industry in the US, online casinos and sports betting centres have raised fears that they target vulnerable groups.
University administrators believe students are especially susceptible because of their immersion in internet culture and their easy access to credit cards. The National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) has been a strong advocate of the bill, reflecting fears that online gambling is a danger to the integrity of college sports.
However, many supporters, including some Christian groups, began withdrawing their endorsement of the bill as it got bogged down and attacked by lobbyists during its passage through a thicket of Congressional committees.
Many anti-gambling groups claimed that the horse racing industry and other gaming activities had used their influence with senior legislators to riddle the bill with so many loopholes that it could no longer curb online gambling - and could even increase its scope in some cases. In its amended form, the bill would allow restricted betting on horse racing, dog racing and some other sports.
A spokesman for the Traditional Values Coalition, a Christian lobby group, told a Congressional committee that the bill could fan the spread of gambling throughout America: "This bill is a Trojan horse for the horse racing, dog racing . ..and sports betting companies," it said.
Many law enforcement officials are also voicing concerns. Kevin DiGregory, a Justice Department attorney, said the bill would "allow individuals, including children and compulsive gamblers, to use the internet to engage in activities that would be prohibited in the offline world".
Senator Jon Kyl and Congressman Bob Goodlatte, the bill's sponsors, have defended it, pointing out that online gaming activities permitted under the bill must be conducted in a "closed-loop, subscriber-based" system inaccessible from the open internet. Opponents assert that such a system could include one with millions of users.
Many anti-gambling advocates feel that an alternative proposal in Congress to ban the use of credit cards to place bets over the net represents their best chance of cracking down on online casinos.
However, as the much-maligned measure approaches a final vote in Congress, some opponents of gambling feel that a flawed bill that could be amended in the future is better than no bill at all.
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