Should Congress rescind the ban on Internet gambling?

The Associated Press

What happens in cyberspace stays in cyberspace?

Featured Topic | Posted 34 weeks 4 days ago

Should Congress rescind the ban on Internet gambling?

The Republican Congress in 2005 passed a ban on Internet gambling. But officials now say it's nearly impossible to enforce -- and that U.S. residents fuel about half the $15.5 billion-a-year online gambling industry. The congressional ban sought to explicitly outlaw Internet gambling but didn't offer a clear definition everyone could agree on, instead referring to existing federal and state laws which themselves provoke differing interpretations. Should the law be fixed, or rescinded outright?

Ben likes: Why you should oppose the Internet gambling ban

Radley Balko/Reason

This past December, the United States settled a trade dispute with Canada, Europe, and Japan over the recently enacted Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

The problem is that the law carves out exemptions for some forms of gambling, such as state lotteries and domestic horse racing, while banning most other forms, most notably poker, the most popular form of online wagering.

The most popular online poker sites are all based overseas, where online gambling is legal. This gave rise to the trade dispute between the U.S. and most of the rest of the western world.

Joel likes: Deal with the abuse, don't outlaw it

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank/Speech to the U.S. House

The fundamental principle of the autonomy of the individual is at stake today.

I guess people think gambling is tacky. They don't like it. Well, fine, then don't do it. But don't prohibit other individuals from engaging in it.

People have said, What is the value of gambling? Here is the value. Some human beings enjoy doing it. Shouldn't that be our principle? If individuals like doing something and they harm no one, we will allow them to do it, even if other people disapprove of what they do.