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 for this legislation, and the particular facts that exist in the true world.
The legislators are trying to protect us from something, or are they? The whole thing seems a little confusing to express the least.
As stated in the earlier article, the House, and the Senate, are once more considering the matter 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, has got the stated intention of updating the Wire Act to outlaw all types of online gambling, to produce it illegal for a gambling business to 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.
In the same way does Rep. Goodlatte, Sen. Kyl, in his bill, Prohibition on Funding of Unlawful Internet Gambling, causes it to be illegal for gambling businesses to accept credit cards, electronic transfers, checks and other styles of payment with the aim 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 centers on preventing gambling businesses from accepting credit cards, electronic transfers, checks, and other payments, and such as the Kyl bill makes no changes to what is currently legal, or illegal.
So, regardless of whether online gambling is currently legal or not, just what is it that the politicians are trying to protect us from? 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 charge card, logging to the family computer, and losing tens of thousands of dollars all before their parents get home from work” ;.메이저사이트
I think a good translation of this quote will be “American parents are incapable of raising their own children so Congress should step in and get it done for them’ ;.Because obviously we are all conscious that the politicians have a much better idea of what is best for us and our youngsters than we do.
And in another quote “Simply speaking, the Internet is a challenge to the sovereignty of civilized communities, States, and nations to determine what is appropriate and decent behavior” ;.
A reasonable translation of this quote appears to be to go something like “Individual Americans are not capable of deciding for themselves what behavior is acceptable and decent in their own homes. Fortunately Congress is here to protect them from themselves and legislate morality for them” ;.
Not merely is Congress supposedly in charge of raising the kids of America, but in order to achieve this, and to avoid us from unknowingly doing something indecent, they are likely to legislate what we could do with our own money, on our own time, in our own homes. Does this sound like the type of a totally free society, or the beginnings of a misguided totalitarian state?
Let’s delve a little deeper into these protections and see exactly how interested the politicians really have been in making sure that our children are safe from the evils of gambling.
Remember, many of these following types of gambling are either currently legal, or will be made specifically legal in the bill being put forward by Rep. Goodlatte.
First, we’ve casinos, and race tracks. These little money makers are proliferating all over the country and generate a lot of tax revenue for federal and state governments along with profits for their operators. Individuals behind the anti-online gambling bills would have you think that casinos are no problem in regards to underage individuals, since casino staff could see the individuals face-to-face and assess their age.
Quite to the contrary however, we’ve this quote from The Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery “Casino kids have now been left on their own at the outer rim of casinos while their parents gamble, according for some casino security officers. In certain extreme cases, children are left in the family car in the casino parking lot for hours at any given time while their parents gamble inside. Less obviously, children could also spend a long time weekly with babysitters while their parents gamble in casinos, bingo halls or card rooms.”
While I certainly wouldn’t attempt to declare that online gambling will work 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 challenge than the present state supported alternative.
Another type 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’s difficult to see how these legislators show deep concern for the kids 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, among seven who play will become addicted.” And from the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey (6 June 2003), “Many regard lotteries as a relatively benign type 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 yet another example of government raking in cash without regard for the kids of America, we’ve Video Lottery Machines. Video Lottery Machines, or VLTs are simply state sponsored electronic video poker machines. In accordance with David Plotz in Slate.com on Friday December 17th, 1999 “They’re probably the most addictive of any gambling instrument we’ve today. It is a cinch for children to play video lottery machines, as they are often within businesses that kids frequent.” These units are being licensed for used in food markets, convenience stores, bars and markets around the united states, where the children of America have easy access.
Clearly, the legislation proposed doesn’t “keep children from borrowing the family charge card, logging to the family computer, and losing tens of thousands of dollars all before their parents get home from work”, They will have a way to get lottery tickets, bet on horse races, and head down to the neighborhood convenience store to play the VLTs.
