Online Gambling Reform
Anyone that knows me is well aware that I’m a poker player. I tend to be about as rabid about the game as your standard rabid football fan (to the point I’ve started a second blog just about poker at http://mariettabull.strangeland.net). Unfortunately, I live in Atlanta, which is several hours from a casino and online betting is currently illegal in the United States (or, more to the point, will fully be so by December if action isn’t taken). There are a number of members of the House of Representatives, however, that are trying to take steps to remove these blocks and put regulations in place to govern online betting.
Now, all arguments aside of whether it should or should not be regulated, I’d much rather see it legal, taxed, and regulated than I would simply prohibited. Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colorado) has a position article posted at Rollcall.com regarding this issue, pointing out some of the dangers to consumers if the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) isn’t repelled and/or corrected.
At the end of the day, the UIGEA was yet another attempt at legislating morality. This is unacceptable, just like every other case of providing for the prosecution of victimless “crimes.” One of the few things for which I will applaud Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass) is his push to clear the legality of online gambling in the United States.
The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) is continuing to lobby Congress on behalf of the poker industry, and I fully support them doing so. If I want to sit at home and play poker online for actual money, that’s my decision. I don’t need the Federal Government playing nanny with me and telling me what I can and can’t do online in this situation.
Obviously there are other issues out there of greater import at the moment, but I can always hope that if Congress can spend time on hearings about the BCS, they can take a day or so and correct the idiocy of the UIGEA.