[Flieteewell]

Unregulated gambiling operations that could defraud the consumer.
That's why.

If anyone enjoyed gambiling online I'll take your credit card and you can call me. You guess a card and I'll tell you if it's right or not.

The customer is already protected from fraud under the law.

By the way, to Slon and thatguywho, while you may keep boohooing over Congress stepping on your toes because people are "simpletons and morons", the bill is a big deal when it comes to the average citizen and it won't make much difference because it'll be difficult to enforce. You guys should honestly cool it and follow my favorite motto, "Don't Panic." When Congress actually starts stepping over it's bounds and really threatening what America is about, people will react in droves.

That having been said, laws designed to protect people from themselves for the large part are unnecessary since it is the responsibility of the individual to avoid self-violence (whether it is physical or financial). People who want to harm themselves are unbalanced.

[qQVXpYM6]

The customer is already protected from fraud under the law.

How dare we increase enforcement of existing laws! Everyone knows that the only way to solve problems is to pass more ineffective laws and ignore enforcement.

I honestly cannot comprehend why anyone would support this bill.

[Frdsdx26]

ill tell you why they would support this bill, because theyre senator tells them to.

[Flieteewell]

I highly doubt that.

Most of the public is not in communication with their senators. Most senators I assure you could not care less about internet gambling. I actually doub that most senators share the same religious vindication that the "religious right" does when it comes to this bill.

The system is designed such that senators respond to the people, not the other way around. If the people say "Gambling is evil, we want it abolished." then the senators will try to make it so. It brings it votes, and that means they get to bring in money and have a desk in the senate chamber which provides a forum for their other political ideas.

[boleroman]

I honestly cannot comprehend why anyone would support this bill.

Unlicensed unregulated gambling via the internet with no age verification.
To protect the stupid from filing bankruptcy after a day of playing is the basic reason.

[qQVXpYM6]

I highly doubt that.

Most of the public is not in communication with their senators. Most senators I assure you could not care less about internet gambling. I actually doub that most senators share the same religious vindication that the "religious right" does when it comes to this bill.

The system is designed such that senators respond to the people, not the other way around. If the people say "Gambling is evil, we want it abolished." then the senators will try to make it so. It brings it votes, and that means they get to bring in money and have a desk in the senate chamber which provides a forum for their other political ideas.

And thanks to idiot voters, we have in our government people who are good politicians/panderers and shitty leaders.

[qQVXpYM6]

Unlicensed unregulated gambling via the internet with no age verification.

Why not just ban unlicenses gambling then? You can go bankrupt playing in a real casino, too. To protect the stupid from filing bankruptcy after a day of playing is the basic reason. Ah, so it is the stupid who support this. I guess I was right. Up next: ban motor oil because a stupid person might drink it.

[Poreponko]

Huge amounts of rackateering and fraud? It also has the potentional to stop or at least hinder the ability of perfectly legitimate businesses and customers from doing buisiness. If you have gambled online, the problems with this bill are pretty obvious. In what ways would you suggest the bill be tougher, and for what reasons do you believe it to be necessary? What is the purpose of this bill?

Brilliant law, this will help stop huge amounts of rakateering/fraud and so on.

Unless you've actually gambled online (which i haven't on U.S. soil) you won't realise what problems could arise, this is an outstanding bill and if anything needs to be even tougher.

[boleroman]

Why not just ban unlicenses gambling then? You can go bankrupt playing in a real casino, too.

For one sports gaming is illegal with the 1961 Wire Act anyway.
You can go backrupt with just about any vice, but with internet gaming it's a 24/7 operation and can be done in comfort of your own home. With River Boat casino's there is a limit (at least in MO) of loss within a period of time and all require getting up out of your home.

How are you going to ban unlicensed gambling? It's the internet, which in itself is unregulated.

[QUOTEAh, so it is the stupid who support this. I guess I was right. Up next: ban motor oil because a stupid person might drink it.[/QUOTE]
No, it's to protect the stupid. Ever heard of gambling addiction?

[Poreponko]

Unlicensed unregulated gambling via the internet with no age verification.
To protect the stupid from filing bankruptcy after a day of playing is the basic reason.

In order to protect "the stupid" we need to ban "the smart" from wagering online? Is it the duty of the government to protect the stupid from losing their money?

[funnyPasds]

Gambling is the idiots tax system. No I do not. I'm software engineer for a fortune 500 company that gets contracts to design systems for merchants so I DO know what I'm talking about. Transactions are recorded by merchants and fee is involved for each transaction.

Where you've yet to explain yourself is the taxing of internet gambling and how it would be done other than just saying "transactions are tracked". If it was that simple the federal government would already be taxing for online purchases, which it isn't. There are over a thousand internet gambiling sites right now all over the world and your proposal is to put the tax bookkeeping burden on the credit card companies, which requires major coding changes, an internal audit system, accounting procedures to track the locations, how much, where, and provide all this information to the IRS. I won't even get into the credit card company giving your name to the federal government that you've been gambling, unless your proposing some gross amount which doesn't help things for them.

Either way it's a unrealistic idea, mainly that credit card companies wouldn't do tax babysitting for your internet habits as they won't do now.

It's much more than logging a transaction. There's my reply, prove me wrong.

Use your brain Big, think about the legislation that was approved. How does it work? The same legislation could be tweaked to extract taxes based on payments to the same companies. the government would call it a new "transaction fee" and viola, the house (uncle sam) gets a 3-5% rake.

[boleroman]

In order to protect "the stupid" we need to ban "the smart" from wagering online? Is it the duty of the government to protect the stupid from losing their money?

The government has a right to protect its citizens and from the rest of us from paying our taxes from criminal charges created from it.

The big gambiling sites are currently not in the US to escape prosecution.
It is an estimated $10 billion/year business. The banking industry opposes all of this. Gambling is expanding to cell phone's now too.

I think it comes down to the govt sitting quietly and letting people throw money away on a fools bet.

I personally think it should be regulated rather than prohibited, but since online betting is illegal for US companies to offer I guess that would never happen.

[qQVXpYM6]

For one sports gaming is illegal with the 1961 Wire Act anyway.
You can go backrupt with just about any vice, but with internet gaming it's a 24/7 operation and can be done in comfort of your own home. With River Boat casino's there is a limit (at least in MO) of loss within a period of time and all require getting up out of your home.

So you're solution is to restrict EVERYONE, even those who do it as an occasional passtime, because some people might use it to harm themselves? Well, shit, ban motor oil to ensure stupid people don't drink it. Fuck people who use it for their vehicles. Ban pencils and pens because stupid people might stab themselves with it. How are you going to ban unlicensed gambling? It's the internet, which in itself is unregulated. Make a law saying online gambling casinos have to get a license. How are you going to enforce Internet gambling?
No, it's to protect the stupid. Ever heard of gambling addiction? Yeah, it's some stupid term used to take the blame off of idiots with no self-control. Guys, I have an addiction to regularly stabbing people who make me angry at my workplace. Ban all sharp objects!

[qQVXpYM6]

The government has a right to protect its citizens and from the rest of us from paying our taxes from criminal charges created from it.

The big gambiling sites are currently not in the US to escape prosecution.
It is an estimated $10 billion/year business. The banking industry opposes all of this. Gambling is expanding to cell phone's now too.

I think it comes down to the govt sitting quietly and letting people throw money away on a fools bet.

I personally think it should be regulated rather than prohibited, but since online betting is illegal for US companies to offer I guess that would never happen.

Isn't it our money to spend?

[Poreponko]

The government has a right to protect its citizens and from the rest of us from paying our taxes from criminal charges created from it.

The big gambiling sites are currently not in the US to escape prosecution.
It is an estimated $10 billion/year business. The banking industry opposes all of this. Gambling is expanding to cell phone's now too.

I think it comes down to the govt sitting quietly and letting people throw money away on a fools bet.

I personally think it should be regulated rather than prohibited, but since online betting is illegal for US companies to offer I guess that would never happen.

What criminal charges? Why is all online gambling a fool's bet? It's entertainment. I see fools throwing money away on things I think are worse than gambling all the time. It's a matter of opinion. Is buying cigarettes or a CD of some flash in the pan pop artist any less foolish? It's impossible for any entity, let alone the federal government to keep a fool from parting with his or her money. Anyone who takes a little time to look into what they are doing knows which online books are legitimate and which ones to stay away from.

[boleroman]

Use your brain Big, think about the legislation that was approved. How does it work? The same legislation could be tweaked to extract taxes based on payments to the same companies. the government would call it a new "transaction fee" and viola, the house (uncle sam) gets a 3-5% rake.

Tweaking would work if the IRS and the Banks would dismiss those basic accounting rules.

[Gedominew]

Brilliant law, this will help stop huge amounts of rakateering/fraud and so on.

Unless you've actually gambled online (which i haven't on U.S. soil) you won't realise what problems could arise, this is an outstanding bill and if anything needs to be even tougher.

Sorry but this is yet one more example of the feds getting in our business. If someone is stupid enough to gamble online that is their problem not mine. It is not for the state to play nanny to these idiots.

[boleroman]

What criminal charges?

It's considered an addiction and has caused jail time with the current system.

Why is all online gambling a fool's bet? It's entertainment. I see fools throwing money away on things I think are worse than gambling all the time. It's a matter of opinion. Is buying cigarettes or a CD of some flash in the pan pop artist any less foolish? It's impossible for any entity, let alone the federal government to keep a fool from parting with his or her money. . Fool's bet is a saying and doesn't apply to just online gambling. It's placing bets expecting to win but odds are you won't, then bet again and get the same result. If it's entertainment why don't you go to the free gambling websites?
It's fun too, right?

[qQVXpYM6]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Most forms of Internet gambling would be banned under a bill that received final U.S. congressional approval early Saturday.

The House of Representatives and Senate approved the measure and sent it to President George W. Bush to sign into law.

The bill, a compromise between earlier versions passed by the two chambers, would make it illegal for banks and credit card companies to make payments to online gambling sites.

Democrats had accused Republicans of pushing the bill to placate its conservative base, particularly the religious right, before the November 7 congressional elections. http://today.reuters.com/news/articl...1_%5BFeed%5D-2

Geez, Congress is pumping out shitty bills like a shit fountain. What exactly is the reason for this bill?

[Peterli]

Anti-gambling laws are like drug prohibition laws - feel good idiocy that puts money into the pockets of criminals.