MA Proposes Two Year Jail Term for Online Gambling

tessaiga writes "The Boston Globe reports that Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick is trying to sneak a provision to criminalize online gambling. The bill, if passed, would make online gambling punishable by up to 2 years in prison and $25k in fines. Ironically, the provision is buried deep within a bill to allow the construction of three new casinos in Massachusetts to bring more gambling revenue into the state. 'If you were cynical about it, you'd think that they're trying to set up a monopoly for the casinos,' said David G. Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Democratic House representative Barney Frank, who earlier this year introduced federal legislation to legalize regulated online gambling, also criticized the move as 'giving opponents an argument against him.' Indeed, groups such as the Poker Player's Alliance, who were previously supportive of Patrick's plans to open the new casinos, have already announced opposition to the bill because of the online gambling clause."

Comments

People have already been executed for gambling

[Jozef Nagy]

I highly suggest you go read Radley Balko's blog http://theagitator.com/. He writes about police state excesses like the one below. It's really a sad story that a man was killed because a SWAT team was used for a simple arrest.

January 26, 2006 Salvatore Culosi, Jr., Dead by Government The Washington Post offers more details on this week's police shooting death of a Fairfax County, Virginia man: Fairfax County's police chief said yesterday that one of his officers accidentally shot and killed an optometrist outside the unarmed man's townhouse Tuesday night as an undercover detective was about to arrest him on suspicion of gambling on sports. Police had been secretly making bets with Salvatore J. Culosi Jr., 37, since October as part of a gambling investigation, according to court records. They planned to search his home in the Fair Oaks area, just off Lee Highway, shortly after 9:30 p.m. Culosi came out of his townhouse on Cavalier Landing Court about 9:35 p.m. and was standing next to the detective's sport-utility vehicle, police said, when the detective gave a signal to tactical officers assembled nearby to move in and arrest Culosi. "As they approached him . . . one officer's weapon, a handgun, was unintentionally discharged," said Fairfax Police Chief David M. Rohrer. [...] Perez said Culosi had not displayed a weapon or shown any violent tendencies while he was being investigated by Baucom. But Perez said police had to be prepared for any possibility, because "the unexpected can occur." "Tactical officers" is a eumpemism for SWAT team. So yes, the Fairfax County police department dispatched the SWAT team to arrest an optometrist suspected of gambling. They had their guns drawn. The descended upon him. And one of them killed him. Fairfax police can talk all they want about a "thorough investigation." But whether the officer has his finger on or near the trigger, whether he tripped or was bumped, or whether or not his gun was faulty -- frankly, none of that means a damn thing. A 37-year-old man is dead because the Fairfax County police department, like police departments all over the country, is sending SWAT teams to serve gambling warrants. And nonviolent drug warrants. And a host of other warrants. Lt. Perez is wrong. SWAT teams don't diminish the risk of violence. They escalate it. In rare situations -- hostage crises, barricades, or violent crimes-in-process, for example -- escalation is necessary to stave off immediate harm. In inherently nonviolent, routine police work -- like serving warrants on optometrists -- they're needlessly provocative and dangerous. A growing pile of bodies testifies to that. And until spineless lawmakers put an end to this idiocy (and yes, risk being called "soft on crime" as a result), the pile is only going to get larger. Posted by Radley Balko on January 26, 2006