This really is part 2 of a multipart series of articles regarding proposed anti-gambling legislation. In this short article, I begin discussion of the quoted reasons because of this legislation, and the actual facts that exist in the real world.

The legislators are attempting to protect us from something, or are they? The whole lot seems only a little confusing to say the least.

As mentioned in the last article, the House, and the Senate, are once more considering the matter 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 the stated intention of updating the Wire Act to outlaw all types of online gambling, to produce it illegal for a gambling business to just 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

Just like does Rep. Goodlatte, Sen. Kyl, in his bill, Prohibition on Funding of Unlawful Internet Gambling, makes it illegal for gambling businesses to just accept charge cards, electronic transfers, checks and other kinds of payment with the objective on placing illegal bets, but his bill does not address the ones that 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 centers around preventing gambling businesses from accepting charge cards, electronic transfers, checks, and other payments, and just like the Kyl bill makes no changes as to the is currently legal, or illegal.

So, whether or not online gambling is currently legal or not, just what’s it that the politicians are attempting to protect us from? Exactly why is 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 bank card, logging to the family computer, and losing 1000s of dollars all before their parents get home from work” ;.

I do believe a reasonable translation of that quote could be “American parents are not capable of raising their own children so Congress should part of and take action for them’ ;.Because obviously we are all aware that the politicians have a much better idea of what’s best for all of us and our children than we do.

And in another quote “In a nutshell, the Internet is challenging to the sovereignty of civilized communities, States, and nations to decide what’s appropriate and decent behavior” ;.

A fair translation of the quote appears to be to go something similar to “Individual Americans are not effective at deciding for themselves what behavior is acceptable and decent in their own homes. Fortunately Congress will be here to protect them from themselves and legislate morality for them” ;.

Not merely is Congress supposedly in charge of raising the children of America, but to be able to do this, and to prevent us from unknowingly doing something indecent, they are likely to legislate what we are able to do with our own money, on our own time, in our own homes. Does this seem like the model of a totally free society, or the beginnings of a misguided totalitarian state?

Let’s delve only a little deeper into these protections and see so how interested the politicians really are in ensuring our children are safe from the evils of gambling.

Remember, all of these following types of gambling are either currently legal, or could be made specifically legal in the bill being put forward by Rep. Goodlatte.

First, we have casinos, and race tracks. These little money makers are proliferating all around the country and generate a lot of tax revenue for federal and state governments in addition to profits for his or her operators. The people behind the anti-online gambling bills might have you imagine that casinos are not an issue in regards to underage individuals, since casino staff can see the individuals in person and assess their age.

Quite to the contrary however, we have 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 for some casino security officers. In some extreme cases, children are left in the family car in the casino parking lot for hours at a time while their parents gamble inside. Less obviously, children may also spend hrs weekly with babysitters while their parents gamble in casinos, bingo halls or card rooms.”

While I certainly wouldn’t attempt to claim that online gambling is good for the American family, clearly, to the extent that children can relax and play in their own homes, and sleep in their own beds, online gambling presents less of a problem than the existing state supported alternative.

Another kind of online gambling that the proposed legislation would exempt from illegal status could be the sale of lottery tickets by the states within the internet. It is difficult to see how these legislators show deep concern for the children of America on the basis of the following quote from Overcoming Life Digest (July/August, 1998 Issue) “Studies reveal that lotteries are the favorite legal gambling game for teenagers. Statistically, certainly 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 somewhat 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 example of government raking in cash without regard for the children of America, we have Video Lottery Machines. Video Lottery Machines, or VLTs are nothing more than state sponsored electronic video poker machines. In accordance with David Plotz in Slate.com on Friday December 17th, 1999 “They are probably the most addictive of any gambling instrument we have today. It is really a cinch for kids to play video lottery machines, being that they are often present in businesses that kids frequent.” These devices are increasingly being licensed for used in supermarkets, convenience stores, bars and markets around the united states, where in fact the children of America have easy access.

Clearly, the legislation proposed does not “keep children from borrowing the family bank card, logging to the family computer, and losing 1000s of dollars all before their parents get home from work”, They will be able to purchase lottery tickets, bet on horse races, and head right down to the local convenience store to play the VLTs.