Senator Weldon Editorial On US Anti-Gambling Bill

Below is an editorial written by Senator Weldon from Florida.

If you've peeked at your junk e-mail lately, you may have noticed a solicitation or two from Internet gambling Web sites. They offer access to unlimited and anonymous online games of blackjack or Texas hold-em poker. Many have asked me about this trend and how it came about.

Internet gambling has grown into a $12 billion a year industry, which has been built through shadowy, offshore gambling operations that illegally solicit, transfer and receive funds over the Internet.

The FBI and the Department of Justice say Internet gambling serves as a medium for money laundering activities, and can be exploited by terrorists to that end. Congress has a chance to address this issue when it considers legislation I have co-sponsored, H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act. The bill cracks down on illegal gambling by updating the law to cover all forms of interstate gambling and account for new technologies. Under current federal law, it is unclear whether using the Internet to operate a gambling business is illegal.

The closest useful statute on the books is the Wire Act, which prohibits gambling over telephone wires. The Wire Act, which was written well before the invention of the Internet, has become outdated. The Internet Gambling Prohibition Act makes it clear that the prohibitions include World Wide Web gambling and the use of any other new technologies.

This act will preserve states' ability to regulate gambling within their borders, but with better controls so that it does not extend beyond their borders or to minors. It gives law enforcement clear authority to investigate, prosecute and terminate offshore Internet gambling sites that violate U.S. law.

It also gives the Department of Justice the ability to compel credit card companies and other financial institutions to block the financial transactions of gambling establishments overseas ? thus, drying up their sources of funding.

The House has twice considered similar legislation, only to have it derailed by the likes of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his pro-gambling friends.

As expected, pro-gambling interests are mustering their lobbying firepower to kill the measure again. Even the illegal offshore operations are doing their part by funneling money through front groups, like Poker Players Alliance, in an attempt to defeat this bill and keep the money flowing.

The fact remains: Internet gambling ? in its current unrestricted, unregulated state ? preys on those who are easy targets for gambling operators. And longer Congress delays action, the more harm offshore gambling operations will cause.

Consider recent studies indicating that Internet gambling operations are particularly adept at targeting young college students who enjoy 24-hour Internet access and easy credit. An estimated 1.6 million college students gambled online last year. Of those, as many as one in four may already be pathological gamblers.

Given the social consequences, Congress should not neglect its duty in providing safeguards and firewalls from those who would callously entrap new gamblers for the sake of a quick profit. We have successfully regulated gambling for the past 70 years. Now is not the time to give that all back because some offshore, shadowy gambling sites have misused the Internet as a loophole.

Enacting the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act will close this loophole and allow gambling to be controlled by the states once again.

Senator Weldon

June 27, 2006
Posted By Terry Goodwin
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com    Previous Page | Internet Gambling | Top Online Casinos | Submit News!

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