FREE ESSAY ON A BET AGAINST INTERNET GAMBLING

A BET AGAINST INTERNET GAMBLING

07 February 2001
A Bet against Internet Gambling
I love gambling. Who doesn't? The minute you walk into a casino you are overwhelmed by
exciting noises, flashing lights and people having a good time. There is so much
excitement it isn't hard to become addicted, especially after your first big win. The
rush you get from winning is something that is hard to parallel. Trust me I know. I
almost became addicted. I realized the trouble I was heading for before it was too late.
I was a lucky one. Many people aren't as lucky. It is especially easy for people who live
very close to a casino to get addicted because it is so easily accessible. Now imagine if
everyone who had a computer had 600+ casino's right in their own living room. It is like
everyone having access to crack cocaine all the time. Not quite as addictive, but you get
the idea. That is why I am for Internet gambling prohibition. 
Some people might say that prohibition isn't fair, that there are people who can handle
the responsibility. Why should everyone suffer because some people can't handle it? I
would tell them that in making a decision like whether or not Internet gambling
prohibition should be enforced the benefits should outweigh the risks. In this case they
definitely do.
Internet gambling is easy to get hooked on. There are advertisements for casinos at
almost all of the major search engines and home pages (ex: yahoo, metacrawler, excite
etc.). Many of these advertisements claim that they have free gambling or give away free
money. For example one casino will give you $125.00 for a $50.00 deposit. Do you think
they would really give you that money if they weren't confident that you would get hooked
and spend it all there or if they thought that they wouldn't get it all back? Once they
have lured you to their websites it is easy for them to get your money. It seems a lot
easier to spend virtual casino tokens purchased with a credit card than it is to spend
your actual hard earned cash at a real casino. 
Another obvious problem with having online casinos is that children have easy access to
them. There is no way to check ID. Anyone with a credit card number can play. Parents of
children who gamble online are legally responsible for the debt that their children
accumulate. It is especially easy if the parents have already been to that particular
casino and set up an account. All the child would need is a password and many computer
operating systems have the option of saving passwords and filling them in for the user. 
Young people are especially vulnerable to Internet gambling. "In virtually all studies of
the rates of gambling problems at various ages, high school and college-aged individuals
show the highest problem rates," said an advisory on Internet gambling and addiction
issued by the American Psychiatric Association (Gugliotta 1).
Some people believe that online casinos are good for the local economy because they
provide jobs and tax revenue for a community. This may be true but the community isn't
local. Most online casinos are located overseas to avoid taxes and US regulations.
Another reason for prohibition is that there is no way to regulate online overseas
casinos. Real casinos in the United States are strictly monitored for fairness and must
pay out certain a certain percentage. A large percentage of online casinos are not
physically located in the U.S. (de Bendern 1). Even if their government monitored these
casinos would we want another country dictating what is fair for our gamblers?
Online casinos aren't the only way of gambling online. There are also cyber bookies for
sports betting and so-called "free" lotteries. 
National sports leagues are against online betting for two good reasons. "When people are
putting money down on games, it does enhance the possibility of actual corruption," says
David Remes, an attorney for the NFL. "It also sends a terrible message to young people
and children about what these competitions are about."
The "free" lotteries aren't quite as harmful as the other forms of online gambling but
they definitely aren't free. They don't cost money to play but you must sacrifice your
privacy. These websites generate revenue by selling the personal information that you are
forced to supply in order to play. Some of the information that you must supply is your
name, address, phone number or even household income. I don't think allowing online
gambling to be legal is worth the dangers involved. I am betting that Internet Gambling
Prohibition is the right way to go. People who love to gamble will always be able to
travel to Las Vegas or their local Indian reservation, but there is no need to put
children and families at risk by making gambling too easily accessible.
Bibliography
06 February 2001
Annotated Works Cited
De Bendern, Paul. "Stacking the Deck: Online Casinos Are Global Phenomenon." abcNEWS.com
09 
Mar. 2000 
Online gambling is growing world-wide. Paul de Bendern lists the following statistics;
"In 1997 there were 40 gambling Web sites. Now an estimated 650 e-gaming Web sites have
sprung up globally, many in the Caribbean and Canada."
Gugliotta, Guy. "Young Gamblers Flocking to the Internet: As Sites Proliferate, the First
Online 
Generation Grows Vulnerable to Addiction." The Washington Post Online 26 Jan. 2001. 
The rapid growth of Internet sites dedicated to gambling has made wagering much more
accessible than it ever was. As a result, more people are prone to getting into debt
through gambling, and even becoming gambling addicts. Gugliotta says that young people
may be at the highest risk. "In virtually all studies of the rates of gambling problems
at various ages, high school and college-aged individuals show the highest problem
rates." 
Ito, Tim and Staples, Sharisa. "Overview: The Odds on Prohibiting Web Bets" The
Washington Post Online Jun. 1999. 
In 1999 the national Gambling Impact Study Commission released its recommendation that
gambling via the Internet be prohibited in the U.S., however most companies that operate
gambling sites are located offshore. Ito and Staples state the problem this way, "Changes
in law follow changes in society, but our society has been changing so rapidly, sometimes
the law cannot keep up."
Reiter, Luke and Wellen, Alex. "Viva Virtual Vegas" TechTV Online 
There are many reasons why gambling via the Internet should be prohibited. One
outstanding reason is that there is no good way to regulate Internet gambling. Reiter and
Wellen state the following: "How can we be sure that a casino from a foreign country will
actually send US bettors their winnings? How can we be sure that foreign casinos are not
doctoring the odds or manipulating outcomes?"
Wasserman, Elizabeth. "Analysis: Should the U.S. regulate or ban online gambling?"
CNN.com 14 Aug. 2000 
Many people are supportive of Internet gambling prohibition, however they are worried
about how the prohibition would be enforced if it were passed. Wasserman admits that the
law would be hard to enforce. "We don't know how to control the flow of drugs into this
country, either," she says. "But that doesn't make it legal."