US Military Gains Internet Access, But Still No Online Gambling

The Pentagon has now outlined the details to a unified policy on Internet usage in the military. Rank and file personnel will be permitted to use the Internet for social websites, but online gambling will still be prohibited.

Up until this week, each branch of the military set its own guidelines as to how social media could be used. The Marine Corp banned the use of social media sites back in 2007, but now all branches will be playing by the same set of rules.

"The world of Web 2.0 and the Internet provides these amazing opportunities to collaborate," said David M. Wennergren, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Information Technology, as reported by CNN, "It not only promotes information sharing across organizational boundaries and with mission partners, but also enables deployed troops to maintain contact with their loved ones at home."

Contact among troops and their families has always been tough when the troops were stationed outside the US. Letters have long been the top form of communication, but with the Internet, and access to social websites such as Facebook and Twitter, communication will become much easier.

Gambling in their down time has been another way that troops have passed time while away from home. Online gambling has become more popular than ever, but the US government has attempted to stop Internet gambling, so allowing access to troops stationed overseas was never really a possibility.

The US passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act back in 2006, but many lawmakers are now trying to have that law overturned. Representative Barney Frank is leading the way with proposed legislation that would not only overturn the UIGEA, but also lay the framework for a regulated online gambling industry in the country.

February 27, 2010
Posted By Tom Jones
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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