When you talk or write about the need to ban casinos, racinos and other forms of slot machine gambling in Maine, proponents of slots often respond by pointing to the widespread opportunities that exist for online gambling.
These folks are inclined to ask, if slot machines are so damaging, then why do we continue to ignore the numerous Web sites that bring virtual slot machines into every American home with an Internet connection? The answer to this question was recently provided in dramatic fashion by the U.S. Congress.
Most forms of online gambling were banned, under a bill that received final U.S. congressional approval on Sept. 30.
The bill puts enforcement teeth in existing laws against online gambling.
Now that the bill has been signed by President Bush, the party's over for online gambling.
It was a "vote heard 'round the world," according to Dr. Guy C. Clark, chairman of the National Coalition Against Gambling Expansion. "You can almost hear the doors slamming on virtual casinos from Antigua to London," Clark said.
The vote was the 11th-hour amendment that will cut the money supply from illegal Internet gambling.
Clark's coalition has worked with members of the House and Senate for more than seven years to get such a bill passed.
The organization has praised U.S. Reps. Jim Leach, R-Iowa, and Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., who have spent years working to enforce a ban on Internet gambling. Now those hopes have been realized in dramatic fashion.
"Bill Frist also deserves credit for getting the bill attached to the port security bill and leading the charge, along with Sen. Kyl, for passage in the Senate," Clark said.
"The bills leading up to this action had overwhelming bipartisan support" Clark said.
He added, "I can't think of better proof that America has had all it intends to endure with the expansion of gambling." There was tremendous pressure arrayed against Congress to kill this bill. All the Internet gambling companies were fighting the legislation and making campaign contributions to influence the vote.
Many of the major gambling giants like Bally, Boyd and MGM were pushing to get access to this lucrative but deadly enterprise.
According to Clark, the Poker Player's Alliance boasted about getting more than 100,000 members to write, phone or e-mail Congress to pressure them into killing the bill.
"But the people spoke louder," Clark said. "People really do understand the dangers of Internet gambling, and they're not about to let this menace loose on every home and office in the country."
As one congressional staff member put it, "Internet gambling is the 'perfect storm' of harm."
It has all the negative aspects combined with an electronic delivery system. Electronic gaming machines have long been called the "crack cocaine" of gambling, Clark noted.
Internet gambling is especially damaging to the local economy. Every cent of every dollar these sites get is entirely lost from the community.
Research has shown Internet gambling to be as addictive as slot machines. It is also the ultimate in "convenience gambling," allowing a person to gamble from the family room or den of their own home.
"Click the mouse and lose your house from your house," Clark said.
"The rate of gambling addiction has always been shown to be higher when gambling is more accessible, and this places a gambling terminal in a person's home or workplace."
Internet gambling has virtually no regulation or protection for the gambler.
he FBI and other law enforcement agencies have testified about the money that criminal elements are able to launder using Internet gambling sites.
"The National Gambling Impact Study of 1997 recommended the banning of all Internet gambling.
"This bill went a long way toward accomplishing that goal. We plan to work with Congress to see future legislation finishing the job," Clark concluded.
Returning to the state scene, the success of the coalition and responsible members of Congress in stopping Internet gambling is a cause for hope.
It should provide fresh impetus to the ongoing effort to eliminate, as well, real-world slot machine gambling in our state.
That form of gambling has been allowed to expand far beyond the parameters under which it was first presented to the people.
About the Author
Douglas Muir (e-mail: douglasmuir@comcast.net) of Kittery is media coordinator for No Slots for ME (www.noslotsforme.org).
source : http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/viewpoints/mvoice/061015casinos.html
