Online Gambling 2008

Shelly Berkeley is at the center of a very revolutionary and open minded bill that is up for debate by the House Judiciary Committee. Berkeley’s bill of course has to do with online slots and casino gambling, and the ever present issue of whether or not to legalize it, and if so, how to regulate it once it is legal. While it should have been up and being discuss before the recess, just as many things go up on the Hill, this bill has been delayed too.

It proposes a trial period, along with a study of the various possible effects of online casino activity. The best part of the idea is that it takes out the vague conjectures based on ideologies, and forces everybody to take a cold hard look at the facts. People on either side are always a little apprehensive to do studies like this because the results can often hurt their cause and it is harder to argue with an objective study than it is with somebody who disagrees with you based on principle.

Of course, this year is especially sensitive, since the election in November has people on both sides anxious to make their voice heard. For many the legalization of slots and online casinos will be a make or break type deal and will have a huge unprecedented affect on which party and how they vote. Furthermore, this all adds to the flame that the Republican Party has started, having gone back and forth between including and excluding language that explicitly outlaws all online gambling.

A large part of the population is quite in support of legalization, in so much just for the regulation and the resources that would be available if online slots were to be made legal. For now, online gamers have no resources or protection, and the US economy is not cashing in at all from this multimillion dollar industry. At the very least, people are looking to this as an answer to these past few years of economic downturn, and it seems that a presidential candidate who is willing to consider every option would be the best bet for the next four years, as opposed to one who rules things out based on pressure from lobby groups.

Back to August 2008 Archive.