A bet's a bet, so why criminalize online gaming while keeping other kinds perfectly legal? | IXGAMES

In THE U.S., it’s OK to bet on horses, play Lotto, gamble at Indian casinos, wager in Atlantic City. And in Las Vegas, it’s virtually a patriotic duty to gamble. In all, you can legally bet in 46 of 50 states, but not over the Internet. Online gambling is illegal. Although the online side of the business, while still small, is booming, Las Vegas casinos have hardly clamored for its legalization. That’s partly because they figure that whenever folks develop a taste for gambling, they will sooner or later look to Vegas to satisfy their hunger. If the distinction between gambling online and offline strikes you as hypocritical, you’re not alone. In November 2004, the World Trade Organization ruled that the United States was in violation of international law by making it a crime for Americans to place bets with online bookies parked offshore. Its court agreed with the tiny island nation of Antigua that, with legal gambling so prevalent in the U.S., laws barring gambling online with offshore casinos was protectionist and, therefore, a violation of international treaties. Antigua’s economy, because it depends on Internet casinos, was unduly harmed. Since then, the case has bogged down in post-judgment proceedings to determine the extent of U.S. compliance with the ruling, which the U.S. can still appeal. Aggravating the situation, however, American officials have stepped up enforcement of existing laws, and Congress passed legislation putting more obstacles in the way of online bettors. Because Congress hasn’t moved to shut down other gambling opportunities in the U.S., attacks on Internet gambling amount to little more than favoring vice that enriches bookmakers at home. Casinos in the U.S. traditionally have “fundamentally opposed” online gambling, said Holly Thomsen, spokeswoman for the American Gaming Assn., the casino industry’s lobbying arm. Without “proper regulations,” she asked, who would protect the children or the “problem gamblers”? If online gambling is ever legalized here, the big casino companies would get into the business and no doubt dominate it with their trusted brands and their deep-pocketed marketing budgets. Would you rather make a bet with some crew in the Caribbean, or with Caesars Palace, which you might also visit from time to time? The American Gaming Assn. survey indicated that 67% of online gamblers visited a casino in the last 12 months. Maybe someday in the distant future, assuming Washington comes to its senses and realizes that it has no business prohibiting people from placing bets on the World Series, a virtual Vegas could nicely compliment the neon-bathed physical one. But as long as it remains illegal, and thus dominated by non-U.S. firms, Las Vegas will still benefit to a lesser degree. That’s because just as all Muslims wind up in Mecca, all gamblers eventually make the pilgrimage to Vegas. 🙂