New Anti Gambling Bill In Congress

Hi all:

I recently read in PC World News that a new anti online gambling bill has come before congress, with some 34 cosponsors.

Apparently, the bill has the support of the justice department and the committee for terrorism, homeland security, and some other bureacracy….

Interestingly enough a bill has also be sponsored, (with 4 cosponsors) to legalize online gambling with government regulation, of course.

I recall the last bill failing…but these things keep coming up. I believe ultimately online gambling in some form will be acceptable to the US Government, but to what degree is the real question.

An interesting side note: 55 percent of Americans in a 1000 person poll DID NOT SUPPORT PROHIBITION. Also, online gambling was legalized in the UK with the caveats of fair gaming regulations and strict metnods of child-proofing the sites.

In any event, what do you all think? While I am not a casino operator, as a marketer it sends a bit of a chill every time the government cooks up another anti gambling bill.

I realize that fears about money laundering and problem gamblers are at the root of these efforts. For one, money laundering will exist irregardless of online gambling. It is the responsibility of law enforcement, not online casinos and marketers, to regulate such illegal actions.

The problem gambling question is something else all together. I continually debate this one in my mind, and have some personal experience with it myself as I am a problem gambler in recovery…

Now that may raise a few eyebrows I’m sure, but I lost more money in the real casinos than I did online.

With responsible legislation, and the cooperation of credit card companies and other financial institution, controls can be set on how much money a gambler can wager since all of the transactions are electronically recorded, unlike land casino operations.

The ethical stance I take on this point, which I think is the real crux of the various anti-gambling bills, is ultimately that online gambling and gambling in general will always exist.

If you don’t like it, don’t gamble. If you develop a problem with it, get help…In general, problem gambling is more a symptom of personal distress than it is a cause… In other words, people end up with gambling problems for reasons external to the actual act of gambling, much like an alcoholic drinks himself into oblivion not because of the alcohol, but because of issues in his/her life that provoke the addiction.

Finally, if online gambling is to be regulated, it would be very easy to control how much a player wagers / loses… after X dollars have been lost, a lock out on a credit card number, social security number, etc. could easily prevent this player from continuing to gamble away…

I know of one casino online that actually did have a monthly wagering limit. I don’t know how profitable or not profitable it was, but the fact remains that even if someone was limited to losing say $1000 a month, profit can still be made in the gambling industry…

I’d be interested in any feedback you all might have…Many of us pray for the day when a whale comes a shore to one of our sites and loses thousands of dollars…but how many of these whales are wealthy enough to lose this much money, and how many of them are averages folks gambling themselves into reckless oblivion?

This is my moral concern with this industry, and I think it is easy to address pragmatically and ethically if common sense is used.

I don’t want to think that my monthly pay check was made of the back of an unlucky soul who could lose his house or rent money, but at the same time I realize that I can’t stop this person from patronizing my site, because to stop him I would be stopping all other responsible gamblers who know their own limits and enjoy the action online…