With the steady
rise of commercial activity on the
Internet, Congress has been moving
toward a formal prohibition of online
gambling.
While such policies
might spring from a moral viewpoint,
they are unlikely to succeed in limiting
online betting. Because Internet gaming
operations are often located outside of
the U.S., there is little Washington can
do to restrict their actions.
Moreover, a
prohibition policy has perverse effects
and encourages the behavior it seeks to
curtail. This is illustrated by a close
examination of one of the most popular
forms of gambling: sports betting. There
is a large demand for sports betting,
and a large illegal sector has arisen to
provide this activity despite a
long-standing policy of prohibition. A
similar ban on all Internet-based sports
betting also is likely to fail. A
legalized regime is a better way to
mitigate the potential dangers of
Internet betting.
To begin, let's
take a closer look at betting on major
sports, which is currently illegal in
all states besides Nevada, regardless of
whether it involves the Internet. While
these bans are primarily enforced by
states, the federal government does get
involved if wagers cross state lines or
there is an alleged involvement of
organized crime. So how successful has
this regime of prohibition been at
eliminating sports betting? By almost
any measure it is a failure. A recently
completed report from the National
Gambling Impact Study Commission
estimates that individuals wager between
$80 and $380 billion dollars with
illegal bookmakers. This is nearly 100
times the amount bet on professional
sports with legal bookmakers in Nevada.
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