Support for regulation
UNLV’s Thompson said hardening laws to make online gambling illegal is a nice idea that simply can’t work.
While legalizing gambling and regulating it in a way where the government could take in tax revenue is a practical solution, it’s not a political one, he said.
So Thompson expects there will be modest controls involving banks and credit card companies, and people who really want to bet or play online will continue to do so.
”The best they can do is slow it down,” Thompson said.
”What’s happening now is definitely not working,” said Keith Furlong, deputy director of the Interactive Gaming Council. ”Without the oversight of the government, you can’t weed out the bad people. It’s like the Wild West.
”Regulation would provide consumer protection for the Internet to continue to move forward. If you have gaming, why discriminate against one medium of bringing it to people if in fact there is a demand for it?”
Recently at least one online sports book, Blue Marlin Sports, shut down. What sort of recourse do people with money in accounts there have?
”Good luck,” said Rose, who frequently gets email through his site, gamblingandthelaw.com, from people complaining about sites that have not paid them for bets they’ve won or that they can’t get the money in their account back from an offshore sports book.
Trying to lure Blue Marlin customers, other online sites have offered increased bonuses for opening a new account.
More options, more problems
According to Eades, gambling addicts have a higher suicide rate than any other kind of addicts — two of 10 try to take their lives. He said he lost a friend who’d embezzled money from his office to bet.
He fears that online gambling is creating more problems.
”What is happening is we’re making it more convenient to develop addicts in this country,” he said.
Thompson said while the online gambling industry is still blossoming, it will soon reach a saturation point.
”In the near future there is more growth, he said. ”But eventually there’ll be a cap on it.”
That won’t do much to help the problem gambler facing temptation. Problem gamblers who spoke to The Tennessean said the online sites make it way too easy to bet, way too easy for a bettor to conceal his actions to those around him.
One member of Gamblers Anonymous described it as an avalanche that gets worse and worse ”until you realize you are powerless.”
Paul Kuharsky is a staff writer for The Tennessean.