This is part 2 of a multipart series of articles regarding proposed anti-gambling legislation. In this informative article, I begin discussion of the quoted reasons for this legislation, and the specific facts that exist in the actual world.
The legislators are trying to protect us from something, or are they? Everything seems only a little confusing to say the least.
As previously mentioned in the earlier article, the House, and the Senate, are yet again considering the problem of “Online Gambling” ;.Bills have already been submitted by Congressmen Goodlatte and Leach, and also by Senator Kyl.
The bill being put forward by Rep. Goodlatte, The Internet Gambling Prohibition Act, has got the stated intention of updating the Wire Act to outlaw all forms of online gambling, to produce it illegal for a gambling business to simply accept credit and electronic transfers, and to force ISPs and Common Carriers to block usage of gambling related sites at the request of law enforcement.안전놀이터
In the same way does Rep. Goodlatte, Sen. Kyl, in his bill, Prohibition on Funding of Unlawful Internet Gambling, helps it be illegal for gambling businesses to simply accept credit cards, electronic transfers, checks and other designs of payment with the objective on placing illegal bets, but his bill doesn’t address those who place bets.
The bill submitted by Rep. Leach, The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, is basically a copy of the bill submitted by Sen. Kyl. It is targeted on preventing gambling businesses from accepting credit cards, electronic transfers, checks, and other payments, and such as the Kyl bill makes no changes as to the is currently legal, or illegal.
So, regardless of whether online gambling is currently legal or not, just what is it that the politicians are trying to protect us from? How come it so important to produce online gambling illegal?
One answer is contained in this quote from Rep. Goodlatte “could keep children from borrowing the family charge card, logging onto the family computer, and losing thousands of dollars all before their parents get home from work” ;.
I think a good translation of that quote could be “American parents are incapable of raising their very own children so Congress should step in and take action for them’ ;.Because obviously we are all aware that the politicians have a much better notion of what is best for all of us and our youngsters than we do.
And in another quote “Simply speaking, the Internet is a challenge to the sovereignty of civilized communities, States, and nations to decide what is appropriate and decent behavior” ;.
A fair translation with this quote appears to be to go something such as “Individual Americans are not capable of deciding for themselves what behavior is suitable and decent in their very own homes. Fortunately Congress will be here to protect them from themselves and legislate morality for them” ;.
Not only is Congress supposedly accountable for raising the youngsters of America, but to be able to do this, and to stop us from unknowingly doing something indecent, they are likely to legislate what we can do with our personal money, on our personal time, in our personal homes. Does this seem like ab muscles type of a free of charge society, or the beginnings of a misguided totalitarian state?
Let’s delve only a little deeper into these protections and see precisely how interested the politicians really are in ensuring that our students are safe from the evils of gambling.
Remember, many of these following forms of gambling are either currently legal, or could be made specifically legal in the bill being put forward by Rep. Goodlatte.
First, we’ve casinos, and race tracks. These little money makers are proliferating all around the country and generate quite a bit of tax revenue for federal and state governments in addition to profits due to their operators. Individuals behind the anti-online gambling bills could have you imagine that casinos are easy in regards to underage individuals, since casino staff can see the individuals face-to-face and assess their age.
Quite to the contrary however, we’ve this quote from The Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery “Casino kids have already been left by themselves at the outer rim of casinos while their parents gamble, according with a casino security officers. In certain extreme cases, students are left in the family car in the casino parking lot all night at the same time while their parents gamble inside. Less obviously, children may also spend several hours weekly with babysitters while their parents gamble in casinos, bingo halls or card rooms.”
While I certainly wouldn’t try to declare that online gambling is good for the American family, clearly, to the extent that children can relax and play in their very own homes, and sleep in their very own beds, online gambling presents less of an issue than the present state supported alternative.
Another kind of online gambling that the proposed legislation would exempt from illegal status is the sale of lottery tickets by the states within the internet. It’s difficult to observe how these legislators show deep concern for the youngsters of America on the basis of the following quote from Overcoming Life Digest (July/August, 1998 Issue) “Studies reveal that lotteries are the favourite legal gambling game for teenagers. Statistically, one of seven who play can become addicted.” And from the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey (6 June 2003), “Many regard lotteries as a comparatively benign kind of gambling. However, 31 percent of callers to the 1-800-GAMBLER national hotline (operated by the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey) indicated problems with lottery gambling.”
In another exemplory instance of government raking in cash without regard for the youngsters of America, we’ve Video Lottery Machines. Video Lottery Machines, or VLTs are nothing more than state sponsored electronic video poker machines. Based on David Plotz in Slate.com on Friday December 17th, 1999 “They are the absolute most addictive of any gambling instrument we’ve today. It is a cinch for kids to play video lottery machines, being that they are often found in businesses that kids frequent.” These devices are increasingly being licensed for use in grocery stores, convenience stores, bars and markets around the country, where in fact the children of America have easy access.
Clearly, the legislation proposed doesn’t “keep children from borrowing the family charge card, logging onto the family computer, and losing thousands of dollars all before their parents get home from work”, They will have the ability to get lottery tickets, bet on horse races, and head right down to the area convenience store to play the VLTs.
