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Betting Against Online Gambling
conq writes "BusinessWeek.com has an article looking at the possible consequences if anti-gambling legislation is passed. From the article: 'Just how much of a setback is the proposed legislation for the $12 billion industry? While online gambling companies generate half their sales from U.S. gamblers, the industry is operated almost completely by companies beyond the reach of U.S. regulators. [...] It's a lot of smoke and mirrors and misstatements.'"
...that there's nothing else important going on the country or the world, so Congress can address the dire scourge of online gambling.
"A great democracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be a great democracy." --Theodore Roosevelt
So the gambling sites will move offshore. The banks and credit card companies will not want to lose that massive
source of transactions, and will find a way to continue those transactions. There is no explicit restriction on them.
There's too much money at stake here.
I know exactly how you feel. As an IT equipment addict, I've spent a fortune on new hard drives, new monitors, CPUs' RAM etc. in the past year alone. When they've finished with gambling hopefullt they'll ban IT sales next. Oh, and then everything else. Won't someone please think of the consumers?
See also: Prohibition.
The way I see it, the congress is worried about the billions of Dollars that's sipping out of the country. Online gambling will always be there, so if we don't want all the money to end up in hands of tropical islands, why not just vote for legalizing this industry instead?
I doubt the republicans are doing this to "save us" from the evilness of gambling. After all, the vast majority of all Americans gamble responsively. Blaming the industry too much would be like blaming television for murderers becoming who they are (read: artificial violence). If people have a problem with spending money, it will end up in pockets of other people no matter what, simply because gambling is only one way to canal it.
So once again, my point is, the US authorities should look at options of keeping as much of the industry within the US as possible instead of messing with peoples' habits and hobbies.
Full Tilt
Coming from a non-gambling addict: Are you seriously suggesting that I shouldn't be allowed to gamble because you can't handle it?
Gambling is not chemically addictive. Its time for you to take some personal responibility for your lifestyle choices.
Athletic Scholarships to universities make as much sense as academic scholarships to sports teams.
Folks, one hell of a lot of people like playing poker and gambling on the internet. Unfortunately, the rake from those games is ALL going offshore. Take note that this bill made it through the house but is not going to be matched in the senate.
This is just a warm-up. Legalizing online gambling so the feds and US corps can get their cut is the real goal. Ask yourself: why aren't the major US gaming corporations being extremely vocal on this issue?
Once again, The Right brings up an issue to legislate on moral grounds (gaining votes) only to collect behind the scenes (gaining $$$) when they later fulfill the interests of the corporations.
"This wound is beyond my ability to heal. We need Elvis medicine!"
Don't know how much poker you have been playing lately, but unless you are playing 1/2 cent games, I don't think it's accurate to say that people who play poker online are weaker than those in casinos.
:P
Poker players in casinos are generally far worse than those that are commonly found online, not to mention, you can actually SEE how bad many of them are.
The advantage isn't that you make more money per hand online, it is that you can make a small advantage into a lot of money because you have the ability to play many more hands.
I know i'm kind of nit picking, but your post just stood out to me as not exactly helping any cause. If you want people to be behind gambling, you don't generally say... Gambling is good because you are all idiots and I can take your money, HAHA!
Hell, I don't even like online gambling now, poker players are pricks!
You take it, I don't want it...
Sometimes people with excellent math ability can win consistently at games like BlackJack. In my opinion, this is wrong also.
That's just silly. A successful blackjack card counter is following the rules of the game, and coming out ahead by making correct decisions. You might as well say that it's "wrong" to pay off your credit card every month because Mastercard wants to collect interest on the balance.
How to solve most of our problems: 1.Lots of nuclear plants. 2.Cure aging.