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How Do You Feel About Gambling on the Internet?
19 Oct 2006
What with the House and Senate having passed an anti-online gambling provision, and the President having done his Constitutional duty by agreeing with it by having signed it, one can't help but wonder if the bill reflects the mood of the average American. Mind you, it might very well be the case that the average American doesn't care one way or the other about online gambling. However, there are likely millions of Americans who have played online casino games or who one day might like the opportunity to try and do so. Did the recent anti-gambling legislation get their seal of approval?
The obvious answer is without a doubt in the negative. It wouldn't make sense for online gambling enthusiasts in the United States to come out in support of anti-gambling legislation when some estimates put their market share of the online casino gaming industry at around 50% of wagers and revenues. Whether these gambling estimates are accurate or not, American internet gambling enthusiasts have made up a significant percentage of total wagers and probably didn't have their feelings taken into account by their own representatives.
What should online gambling proponents in the United States be doing right now for a cause they might hold dear? Why, they should do what most symbolic or genuine oppressed minorities in the country have done, and somehow organize politically to lobby the Congress to overturn anti-gambling legislation. At the same time, they could also challenge anti-online gambling laws in state and federal courts, possibly even to the point of getting the case heard before the Supreme Court of the United States. The options are many, but the will has to be there for anything to really get done in this regard.
