Harvesting Common Sense on Gambling

If you're a lottery and gaming fan, you should understand that certain American Congressmen and Senators have made it their life's work to ban all Internet gaming, including online casinos and lottery ticket sales.  Even though the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act was voted down on its first visit to Congress in July, it could rear its ugly head in another vote in the near future.

As a result, the debate is still simmering and many more voices have entered the fray pleading for sanity.  Here is a random collection of comments, a harvest of rationality, gathered from the online media:

The New Math:  Day-Trading Equals Online Gambling

"Politicians concerned about the intrusion of gambling into the home never mention that a multibillion-dollar gambling game -- day-trading in the stock market -- thrives on the Internet and dwarfs in scale anything the pari-mutuel industry could dream of."  (Andrew Beyer;  WashingtonPost.com)

Why?  Because I Said So!

"It's one thing for government to encourage moral behavior on the part of its citizenry, but it's quite another for them to mandate it.  The first is the action of a just and God-fearing government, the second is the act of a dictatorship."  (Lisa Dean, Vice President for Technology Policy at the Free Congress Foundation.)

Viva Las Vegas But Down With the Internet

"This is the country that gave the world Las Vegas.  It seems somewhat hypocritical."  (Mark Blandford, legal online bookmaker, UK, commenting on the proposed ban.)

Seeking Problem Gamblers?  Check Out VDTs

"If the Government spent as much time and money looking for ways to curb problem gambling with (offline) gaming machines as it is in targeting online gaming, then we would probably greatly reduce the incidence of problem gambling in our society."  (Peter Bridge, Lasseters Managing Director)

It's not too late for you to have your say.  Write a letter of protest to your member of Congress.  Vote NO against this bill and its misguided attempt to protect us from ourselves.  You'll sleep better tonight!


Author Bio:

Heather Reimer was a journalist for over 15 years before signing on as Copy Editor for iGlobalMedia.com, a leading edge affiliate management and marketing company.

The iGlobal Media Group works with over 30,000 webmasters and promotes some of the best gaming sites online. You can visit them and see their newsletter at:  www.iglobalmedia.com/news/