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Let Internet gambling alone
http://www.rep-am.com/story.php?id=10101
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Copyright © 2006 Republican-American
Last week, our glorious representatives in Washington passed a measure to block access to Internet gambling sites.
Poker rooms on the Web generate $12 billion annually. It is estimated that more than half of that total comes from players in this country. They play in rooms outside of the U.S., on islands in the Caribbean, or in the United Kingdom and Australia.
If they are beyond our borders, they are also outside the bounds of government control. The House measure was passed overwhelmingly, 317 to 93.
So, what’s the big deal about playing poker on the Web? It is said to be a dangerous temptation to children.
Jim Leach, R-Iowa, one of the bill’s sponsors, said this about the millions of young people on the Internet every day:
“Never before has it been so easy to lose so much money so quickly at such a young age.”
I don’t trust that sentiment.
Congress isn’t worried about our kids. Congress is miffed because it can’t get its hands on that gambling revenue. Leach is from Iowa, the first state to legalize riverboat gambling. He’s fine with the fleecing of Iowans.
If we’re worried about gambling, then let’s do something about gambling. This bill does nothing to limit our ability to bet on horse racing on the Internet. Log on to a place called Lottery Universe, or lottery.com, whip out your credit card, and you can go broke in a heartbeat.
It’s all legal.
Here’s a new one for you: California might soon add a video program to a slot machine that makes it possible to bet on horse races run as far back as 30 years ago. Gamblers don’t know the race, the track, the date, or the identities of the horses, which means it is a pretty dumb bet.
But applying that ancient theory that says, if it moves, we will bet on it, “Instant Racing” could add $300 million to the state’s booming $4 billion gaming industry.
An intense fight is expected from the tribal casinos. Everyone wants a shot at your gambling losses.
The decision to gamble is a personal choice. That’s not me talking. That’s part of a disclaimer on the Connecticut State Lottery Web site.
Yes, I like to place the occasional wager, and in a poker game, though I’m usually the first to bust out, I still enjoy playing.
It should be my decision. And if you’re thinking of dashing off an angry e-mail on the evils of gambling, first ask yourself if you’ve ever bought a lottery ticket or played bingo in a church hall. If the answer is yes, then don’t waste your time, or mine.
So, to review, it is legal to use your credit card to bet on a horse race over the Internet, and it is legal to use the Internet to buy lottery tickets. The government gets a share of that business.
Congress wants to make it illegal to play poker, the game for which it doesn’t get a payoff. Hmmmmm.
Are people losing too much money through gambling? Of course they are.
If these 393 elected officials are truly concerned then shut down access to online poker rooms, and shut down the lotteries, and the bingo games, and board up all the race tracks.
And maybe we should close Internet fantasy sports sites where you play for cash prizes. I’d wager that kids spend more money there than in poker rooms.
Shut them all down. Anything less and you are nothing more than a hypocrite.
Joe Palladino can be reached at jpalladinorep-am.com.<<<
I like the part with:
Leach is from Iowa, the first state to legalize riverboat gambling. He’s fine with the fleecing of Iowans.How hypocritical can it get
this bill semes more like asupport for the Horse Racing industri than anything ells
