Online Gambling: Exploring Grey Waters

The growing industry of gambling creates revenue from taxes, but is it really profitable? Smith-Christopher claims “the total amount accounts for less than a quarter of the gambling industry revenues nationwide each year.” It can be said that gambling can help economic progress, “Nearly half of all tribal gaming enterprises earn less than $10 million in annual revenue, and one-quarter earn less than $3 million each year. On the other end of the spectrum, about 40 tribal casinos (or about 1 in 10) take in two-thirds of all Indian gaming revenues” (Smith-Christopher). The economic benefits that gambling creates may outweigh the addictions it may create. Walker claims, “As gambling expands, the gambling industry and government are beginning to

“Gambling addiction, particularly is easy to start; it requires no elaborate or illegal activities, no troublesome ingestion of substances, and it programs the body using its own chemicals” (Brodak 302). Molly Brodak the daughter of Joseph and the author of “Bandit” speaks up about growing up with a father who is addicted to gambling. Molly, her sister, and mother struggle to overcome the challenges that come along with having a man in their life who loses everything for them. Not only does this gambling addiction that Joseph suffers from harm his life financially but also emotionally.

Since the actions of the major online gambling sites promote, and will continue to promote, usage by individuals in states that outlaw online gambling, the sites should be illegal on the federal level since they violated the UIGEA.

There are many different forms of gambling. Whether one is betting on a lottery ticket, a horse race, a sports game, or slot machines, to name a few, they are spending money with unfavourable odds of winning that money back. Many people cannot control when they walk away from gambling, as they will continue to bet in an attempt to win back the lost money. The issue is - for the most part - that the losses continue to increase. In Victoria, in the fiscal year of 2000-01, gamblers lost a total of $14.38 billion, including $2.36 billion on the leading cause of losses, poker machines (11). This can result in problem gambling. Based on different surveys in Canada, it is estimated that approximately 1 in 20 Canadians either have a gambling problem, or are at serious risk of obtaining one. 1 in 20 Canadians adds up to 760,800 problem gamblers (12). In the US, an estimated 3 million people are problem gamblers, and another 15 million are at risk of developing gambling problems (13). Problem gambling would not be as severe of an issue if it only harmed the gambler themselves, as it is their choice to gamble and displays a only a lack of self control. The issue is that people are indirectly affected by problem gambling. It can result in problems with personal relationships, neglect of ones family, bankruptcy, and stress related disorders such as depression, or insomnia (14). Problem gambling also has a positive correlation with crime. This means that the more problem gamblers there are, the more crimes are being committed. Statistics from a published survey show that only 3.3% of responsible, low frequency gamblers have been convicted of committing a crime, while a staggering 28.3% of problem gamblers have been convicted at least once (15). These numbers show that problem gamblers do not only harm themselves, but the consequences have a continuous ripple effect,

Instead, it made it a federal offense, punishable up to five years, for financial institutions to process payments for companies operating in “unlawful Internet gambling.” Sports gambling operations are the only businesses specifically mentioned as “unlawful Internet gambling” within the UIGEA. Otherwise, the rest is left to wide interpretation. Under the UIGEA, games of chance are considered “unlawful gambling,” but no specific games were cited. There certainly is a valid argument to be made for prohibiting games of chance over the Internet, but the authors of this bill ruined their credibility by appeasing state lottery lobbyists. Yes, lotteries received an exemption from the UIGEA even though they are completely subject to chance. Likewise, lobbyists corralled exemptions for fantasy sports, dog racing, and horse

Over the past 100 years people have gambled on horse races, boxing matches, and card games. It has been in human nature to put a bet on a competative game to try and win money. Gambling today has become even more prominate in our society. All over the internet you can find cites to wager on a game or play poker. The problem people gambling on the internet is the revenue goes to companies who do not live in this country. Creating a place to gamble in all cities would create more revenue for our country. Furthermore, it would create more jobs and then populate smaller cities. To help out this economy we need to legalize gambling in the United States.

Back in 1996, the explosion of online casino gambling swept the world. The United States had been a large part of this, and many gamblers had turned to online casinos for all of their gaming. For many years, these casinos continued to be played unabated. Unfortunately, back in 2006, legislation was passed that made it slightly difficult for online casinos to continue to operate. This legislation, sneaked in by piggyback through the Safe Port Act, would be named the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, and it became a thorn in the side of the online gambler, the online casino, and all payment processors there in.

But given that the federal government has already categorized fantasy sports as a contest which requires skill, I believe that states should explore adding new regulation to define legal parameters for these companies to operate in. (Forbes) According to Adam Silver, the NBA Commissioner, legalizing and regulating sports gambling could hamper the nearly $400 billion wagered illegally on sports each year. With such a large black market around the world it would seem beneficial for states to have some regulation and control over the gambling activities. On March 7th 2016, the state of Virginia enacted the first ever fantasy sport act in an effort to add much needed oversight to a gray area of the gaming market. The act did not classify fantasy sports as gambling, however, it requires fantasy companies to pay a registration fee of $50,000 in the state of Virginia in order to pay for the governmental supervision and regulation. Moreover, it will require fantasy sports users to verify that they are at least 18 years old and will prevent company insiders from participating in public competitions and sharing private information.(Forbes

     Gambling addiction is an issue found in numerous areas where gambling is legal. People who are addicted to gambling, also know as problem gamblers, face many health risks including depression, suicidal thoughts, loss of sleep, loss of appetite, migraine and anxiety in addition to marriage breakdown, problems at work and bankruptcy (9). About 2 percent of adults are thought to be problem gamblers (1). In today’s society this costly addiction is not often considered to be a common problem among those who gamble. Only a small amount of states in the U.S. give enough attention toward this rising problem of people that are sometimes even willing to commit crimes just to aid their addiction. In the past our

Gambling in the words of McLean and Yoder (2005) "means risking something of value, usually money, on an event that has an unknown outcome." In the opinion of the authors, gambling can assume various forms including but not in any way limited to "casino games, betting on sporting events, playing bingo, buying raffle tickets, and playing lotteries" (McLean and Yoder, 2005). Over time, gambling has grown in popularity with the same being legalized in many jurisdictions across the world. However, those opposed to gambling and the legalization of the same continue to cite various reasons in an attempt to backup their assertions. One of the reasons cited by those opposed to gambling according to McLean and Yoder (2005) is that the costs of gambling easily outweigh the benefits associated with the same. This argument advances the idea that the interests of the society override those of an individual. Thus the

There are several concerns regarding the ethics of gambling whether in an online setting or in a public setting. Gambling has many benefits for both gamblers and casinos, but it’s crucial to acknowledge the psychological repercussions of gambling as it isn’t always just “harmless fun.” We can consider the negative and positive implications of gambling on non-gamblers as well. However, how would ethical theories and perspectives differ in their approach to the effects of gambling? When people think of gambling, they usually see flashing Vegas casinos and large sums of cash. The gambling arena is much larger just as the significance of the effects gambling has on the casinos and people involved. Gambling addiction is a very prevalent factor

Research suggests that for every problem gambler there are 10 to 17 people around him that will be negatively affected.[iv] Excessive spending on gambling can have serious consequences for the gambler's family. For the most part, bills and necessary expenses are not paid and the burden will fall onto the spouse or children.[v] There can also be a negative impact on the gamblers' work environment. If the gambler is not focused or absent from work, he may be fired which could add to his financial difficulty that started with his gambling habit. Crime is sometimes used to support gambling habits after bank accounts are exhausted.

Political and legal factors are those controlled by ‘governments, local authorities, or other trade or activity orientated regulatory bodies' (Brassington and Pettitt, 2000). Gambling legislation is put in place in order to prevent consumers been taken advantage and also help control consumers with gambling problems. The internet is open to great abuse in all areas of the internet and gambling is no exception. Within five minutes it is possible to be gambling on the internet at as high stakes as one desires, this obviously has its dangers. Companies have recently been pushed to be more responsible for caring for their customers. Some of the companies now have a system which its customers can use. The system offers the customer control of how much they can deposit in a designated time period, this helps the customers control their spending. Though this may affect profits for a company, it gives the impression that they care for their customers, which promotes their company. The laws for online gambling are reasonably relaxed and with it been a worldwide market that anyone from any country can access it is hard to control such a market. There have been recent worries about illegal gambling carried out on Betfair with trainers and owners regarding the running of a horse to lose. Many bets would be taken on the specific horse resulting

Do you feel it is important to do what you want with your money, without federal or state government telling you what you can and can’t do? This is an argument that is very popular among those who support online gambling legalization and regulation. They try to show the attack on a free society. “If five poker enthusiasts want to voluntarily play online, and if a private company wants to provide the technology for that to happen in exchange for a fee, why do members of Congress feel obligated to prevent that from happening?” (Balko)

Russo v. State attempted to remove the ban on online gambling, U.S. Code 9.46.240. However the court did not agree with the sentiments that it violated the commerce clause, meaning the ban on online gambling is still valid (Russo v State, 2010). This demonstrates that the courts will uphold this ban since it is not unconstitutional in any way. The other case is People v. World Interactive Gaming Crop. This case had the New York attorney general go after a online gambling site offering its services to residents of New York. The case successfully stopped this company from offering online gambling(People v World Interactive Gaming Crop., 1999). This shows that courts will be able to got after and stop site offering cryptocurrency gambling. With everything from cryptocurrency being recognized as something that can be regulated and has value, and online gambling being able to encompass the betting of cryptocurrency; Cryptocurrency gambling can be treated exactly the same and regulated the same as current online