There is a major issue to be dealt with, which is spreading with
little regulatory oversight and no effective screens against
participation by the young and the vulnerable. Internet gambling
represents one of the fastest growing segments of online activity with
more than seven hundred web sites now providing users the opportunity to
wager everything from casino games to sporting events. According to
internet research firms, the industry will pull in $1.5 billion in
world-wide revenues this year. That figure is expected to hit at least
$6 billion by 2006. Also, a survey conducted by the Pew Internet and
American Life Project concluded that $4.5 million Americans have gambled
online and that 1 million gamble online everyday.
There are many
different issues dealing with the legalization of online gambling. The
current law dealing with online gambling is the Wire Transfer Act of
1961. Under this statute, the law is violated when telephone lines are
used in interstate or foreign commerce to place wagers. The statute also
bars the transmission of information that assists betters to gamble on
sports events and contests. Recently, Congress have been active in
seeking to pass further legislation to restrict betting on the web. Last
November, the Senate proposed the internet gambling Prohibition Act.
This statute would make it a crime to knowingly use the internet or
other interactive computer services to place, receive, or otherwise make
a bet or wager; or send, receive, or invite information assisting in
the placing of a bet or wager. Penalties would be as high as $20,000 and
4 years in prison. However, in a vote in July, the bill narrowly missed
obtaining the 2/3 majority required to pass the bill. In May, the
Unlawful Internet Gambling Funding Prohibition Act was introduced. This
statute would criminalize and prohibit any person engaged in a gambling
business from knowingly accepting from another person who is involved in
internet gambling a credit card or extension of credits, an electronic
transfer of funds, or any instrument payable through a financial
institution. This would shield certain financial institutions from
liability as long as they do not know that their facilities are being
used for online gambling. This bill has also not yet been passed.
Either
of these Acts would greatly help the problems of online gambling. There
are a number of reasons why this booming industry should provoke more
concern among policy makers. Online gambling promotes addiction through
easy accessibility and presents great potential for criminal abuse. It
is widely available to children and teens, increasing the chances that
underage players will participate and become hooked. Internet gambling
poses particular hazards for adult pathological gamblers and has the
potential to increase greatly the number of people with gambling
problems. Online gambling provides an opportunity for illegal activity,
including money laundering and fraud. In addition, online gambling
offers none of the potential economic benefits of casino gambling.
According
to Bill Saum director of agent and gambling activities for the National
Collegiate Athletic Association, online gambling has been a growing
problem on college campuses. Most dorms are wired, letting students bet
in the privacy of their rooms virtual anonymity. With nothing more than a
credit card, the possibility exists for any student athlete to place a
wager via the internet and then attempt to influence the outcome of the
contest while participating on the court or playing field. Additionally,
students are surrounded with offers to sign up for credit cards from
representatives on campuses and solicited with email from internet
sports bookie sites. The majority of students don't even know that most
states prohibit sports gambling. Gamblers put down about $300 million on
sports betting online last year. In the 1995 NCAA Championship, the FBI
estimated that $2.5 billion was illegally gambled, second only to the
Super Bowl.
There are also other ways to control online gambling,
if not to make it fully illegal. The government could somehow control
how much one bets by setting limits on people and by keeping track how
much is being spent. Australia would be a perfect example of how this
could work. There a gambler has to register with the online casino,
provide bank account information, and through fax in several forms of
identification. Most of their companies also call patrons to verify the
information, and to catch sneaky children who try to register under
their parents' names. The online casinos allow customers to set a limit
on the amount of money they can wager in a week, month, or year. Raising
the limit entails a waiting period.
Many people gamble on the
internet every day. Online gambling promotes addiction and presents
great potential for criminal abuse.
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