US Congress passes bill banning Internet gambling
Published October 10th, 2006 in Technology
The US Congress has passed a bill banning most forms of Internet gambling. Now all that remains is for the President to sign the bill into law. Of course, you can bet that state lotteries aren’t on the list of banned Internet gambling sites. Oh no, definitely not. If we didn’t have online state lotteries, we’d have no way to unclog the tubes. It’s not like the Internet is a truck you can just dump things on, now is it?
More here [Reuters]
The other major impact of the gambling bill, and the resulting exodus by some of the most responsible, licensed operators, is the effect on players - as the industry goes underground, it leaves us more unprotected than ever.
We have formed a coalition to fight the gambling ban - Poker Patriots. Poker Patriots will strive to create a community of players and advocates with a purpose - to reverse the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and demand the US government license and regulate the industry.
It is inherent in all American poker players to defend their rights against the special interests that created the bill and become Poker Patriots. We call on them to join the fight for the right to play at http://www.pokerpatriots.com.
Thanks,
Doug Savoy
Poker Patriot
I hadn’t thought of it at the time I made this post, but that’s an interesting point. When the government bans something relatively benign for whatever reason, the result tends to be that the problem becomes worse because it becomes unregulated, and you get criminals providing the product or service in question instead of legitimate organizations. All you’d have to do is look back to the 1920’s and see what little good alcohol prohibition had on the US for an example of this.
That’s a great comparison, alcohol prohibition. Prohibiting anything closes the doors to those who want to operate in an above-the-board manner, but opens the door to those who hide in the corners.
For those who like to play poker, they’re going to find a way to play poker, except their legit choices are going to be limited. And that’s part of our primary argument - freedom means choice - and when the gov’t steps in and limits choice, they limit freedom. And limiting freedom has all these strange, unexpected consequences.
It’s like a microcosm of our entire system and showcases why our freedom is so important and shouldn’t be for sale to special interests, or motivated by a protectionist attitude. It’s a global economy and we’re demanded to compete, not protect. That’s why regulation - guidelines, rules, codes of ethics - is relevant for any industry.
Doug