In 2006 Congress passed, and President George W. Bush signed, legislation to stop the spread of Internet gambling. At the time, no one was sure whether a law could deter shady offshore operators. But by targeting the money flows and banks that facilitated these businesses, the law worked far better than most people imagined. Until now, that is.
A count of exactly 31 is called a is gambling a good or bad thing 'hitter' and wins a double stake unless the dealer also has one. Where the dealer has an Ace or a ten value card face up, Early Surrender is offered before the dealer checks for Blackjack. Not 'pure gambling' (lottery tickets, casinos, online gambling). But gambling as an essential feature of healthy hopeful living that takes us beyond the routine. Good things about gambling: the gambling impetus that takes us beyond where we are. My partner and I.
The doors to the virtual casino are reopening, this time with the gambling sites based here in the USA, thanks to a 2011 Justice Department finding that earlier bans applied only to sports betting.
Thursday, New Jersey begins a five-day trial run of Internet gambling, with a full launch scheduled for next Tuesday. Existing Atlantic City casinos will be licensed to offer electronic versions of all casino games online to people within the borders of the Garden State.
Delaware has already begun online gaming, and Nevada has it for poker only. From there, who knows where it will go? Gambling tends to spread fast, fueled by state governments desperate for new revenue or desperate to protect existing revenue streams.
With legal gambling headed for an electronic device near you, it's time for Congress to rise above its current dysfunction and pull the plug. The only thing lawmakers have to do is clarify that the 2006 law, and a 1961 law from which it drew, apply to all forms of online gaming.
That cause is receiving support from an unlikely source: Las Vegas Sands CEO (and Republican superdonor) Sheldon Adelson, who plans to launch an anti-Internet gambling lobby next month. The rest of the gaming industry, aided by an activist community of poker players, will likely mount a furious counterattack.
The nation has enough social pathologies to worry about without unleashing a new form of domestic gambling that is all but impossible to police or keep contained in one place. People with addictive personalities would either have to give up their smartphones, tablets and computers, or have a casino at arms reach 24/7.
Whatever one might think of brick-and-mortar casinos, they do some things right. They are pretty good at checking IDs to keep minors out. And they at least require people to get dressed and into a vehicle if they want to gamble.
Internet gambling advocates say they have screening programs designed to keep minors out, and geolocation software designed to limit play to people physically located within a particular jurisdiction.
Does anyone seriously think that these firewalls wouldn't be circumvented?
The FBI doesn't. It told a House committee in 2009 that age verification programs were easily beaten because they generally relied on credit card numbers, easily purchased on the black market.
Parents worried that their kids off at college will fritter away time and money on Internet gambling will be at the mercy of casinos' technological solutions. States like Utah can only hope that technology will prevent its strict anti-gambling laws from being undermined.
For everyone but the casinos and a smattering of skilled poker players, online gambling is a very bad bet.
Why Gambling Is Bad And Good
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