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Prohibition Ii: Good Grief

 

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The new law actually legalizes online betting on horse racing, Internet state lotteries and some fantasy sports. The horse- racing industry is a powerful interest. The solidarity of the political class prevents the federal officials from interfering with state officials' lucrative gambling. And woe unto the politicians who get between a sports fan and his fun.

In the private sector, where realism prevails, casino operators are not hot for criminalizing Internet gambling. This is so for two reasons: It is not in their interest for government to wax censorious. And online gambling might whet the appetites of millions for the real casino experience.

Granted, some people gamble too much. And some people eat too many cheeseburgers. But who wants to live in a society that protects the weak-willed by criminalizing cheeseburgers? Besides, the problems--frequently exaggerated--of criminal involvement in gambling, and of underage and addictive gamblers, can be best dealt with by legalization and regulation utilizing new software solutions. Furthermore, taxation of online poker and other gambling could generate billions for governments.

Prohibition I was a porous wall between Americans and their martinis, giving rise to bad gin supplied by bad people. Prohibition II will provoke imaginative evasions as the market supplies what gamblers will demand--payment methods beyond the reach of Congress.

But governments and sundry busybodies seem affronted by the Internet, as they are by any unregulated sphere of life. The speech police are itching to bring bloggers under campaign-finance laws that control the quantity, content and timing of political discourse. And now, by banning a particular behavior--the entertainment some people choose, using their own money--government has advanced its mother-hen agenda of putting a saddle and bridle on the Internet.

Gambling is, however, as American as the Gold Rush or, for that matter, Wall Street. George Washington deplored the rampant gambling at Valley Forge, but lotteries helped fund his army as well as Harvard, Princeton and Dartmouth. And Washington endorsed the lottery that helped fund construction of the city that now bears his name, and from which has come a stern--but interestingly selective--disapproval of gambling.

© 2006

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Member Comments

  • Posted By: ED-209 @ 03/05/2009 9:29:00 AM

    Wow truth-101, thanks for protecting me from being swindled out of millions. If it weren't for the federal government I'd probably get hoodwinked by every Nigerian prince that wanted to wire me millions. Of course it is in the best interest of these billion dollar companies to have gaping security flaws and to let their employees cheat customers out of their money. I'm sure these companies have no desire for repeat customers or to be going concerns for more than 5 minutes.

    Please don't post this drivel and expect anyone to take you seriously. And what makes you think I want or need your protection? I'm not 5 and you're not my parent.

  • Posted By: truth-101 @ 03/05/2009 2:04:02 AM

    the main issue is not online gambling, you're a fool. the main problem is there is no way to regulate these things clearly, and there is always a chance the player can be swindled out of millions by either fake player programs setup by the company to simulate real players and win instead. this is to protect the american people from fraud, something that is happening quite a lot. there is simply no way to fairly tell if the system is stacked against the player, especially when many online gambling companies are overseas and untouchable by our courts. for all you know, the whole table of poker you're sitting at online is filled with company employee's or programs to simulate players. this is not nonsensical like other prohibitions. the only people I can see fighting for online gambling are the addicted gamblers, and the company's that want to cheat those gamblers.

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