This is part 2 of a multipart group of articles regarding proposed anti-gambling legislation. In this informative article, I begin discussion of the quoted reasons because of this legislation, and the specific facts that exist in the real world.
The legislators want to protect us from something, or are they? The whole thing seems a little confusing to say the least.
As stated in the previous article, the House, and the Senate, are yet again considering the issue of “Online Gambling” ;.Bills have now 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, gets the stated intention of updating the Wire Act to outlaw all types of online gambling, to make it illegal for a gambling business to simply accept credit and electronic transfers, and to force ISPs and Common Carriers to block use of gambling related sites at the request of law enforcement.안전놀이터
Just as 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 bank cards, electronic transfers, checks and other kinds of payment for the purpose 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 focuses on preventing gambling businesses from accepting bank cards, electronic transfers, checks, and other payments, and like the Kyl bill makes no changes to what is legal, or illegal.
So, regardless of whether online gambling is legal or not, just what is it that the politicians want to protect us from? How come it so important to make online gambling illegal?
One answer is within this quote from Rep. Goodlatte “could keep children from borrowing the family charge card, logging on to the family computer, and losing 1000s of dollars all before their parents get home from work” ;.
I believe a reasonable translation of this quote would be “American parents are incapable of raising their particular children so Congress should part of and take action for them’ ;.Because needless to say we are all conscious that the politicians have a much better idea of what is best for people and our kids than we do.
And in another quote “In short, the Internet is challenging to the sovereignty of civilized communities, States, and nations to determine what is appropriate and decent behavior” ;.
An acceptable translation of the quote would appear to go something such as “Individual Americans are not capable of deciding for themselves what behavior is appropriate and decent in their particular homes. Fortunately Congress is here to safeguard them from themselves and legislate morality for them” ;.
Not only is Congress supposedly responsible for raising the youngsters of America, but to be able to achieve this, and to avoid us from unknowingly doing something indecent, they are going to legislate what we are able to do with our personal money, on our personal time, in our personal homes. Does this seem like ab muscles style of a totally free society, or the beginnings of a misguided totalitarian state?
Let’s delve a little deeper into these protections and see so how interested the politicians really have been in ensuring that our students are safe from the evils of gambling.
Remember, many of these following types of gambling are either currently legal, or would 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 throughout the country and generate a great deal of tax revenue for federal and state governments as well as profits due to their operators. Individuals behind the anti-online gambling bills could have you think that casinos are no problem when it comes to underage individuals, since casino staff can see the individuals face-to-face and assess their age.
Quite to the contrary however, we have this quote from The Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery “Casino kids have now been left independently at the outer rim of casinos while their parents gamble, according with a casino security officers. In some extreme cases, students are left in the family car in the casino parking lot for hours at a time while their parents gamble inside. Less obviously, children might also spend a long time each week 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 wonderful for the American family, clearly, to the extent that children can relax and play in their particular homes, and sleep in their particular beds, online gambling presents less of an issue than the current state supported alternative.
Another form of online gambling that the proposed legislation would exempt from illegal status is the sale of lottery tickets by the states over the internet. It is 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 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 comparatively benign form 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 issues with lottery gambling.”
In another exemplory case of government raking in cash without regard for the youngsters of America, we have Video Lottery Machines. Video Lottery Machines, or VLTs are only state sponsored electronic video poker machines. According to David Plotz in Slate.com on Friday December 17th, 1999 “They are the absolute most addictive of any gambling instrument we have today. It is really a cinch for children to play video lottery machines, since they are often present in businesses that kids frequent.” These devices are increasingly being licensed for use within food markets, convenience stores, bars and markets around the nation, where in actuality the children of America have easy access.
Clearly, the legislation proposed doesn’t “keep children from borrowing the family charge card, logging on to the family computer, and losing 1000s 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 down seriously to the area convenience store to play the VLTs.
