October 24, 2006
ILLEGAL ENTERPRISE AND ADVERTISING
The online gambling world has apparently hit hard recently by the strengthening and enforcement of federal measures:
NEW YORK (AP) -- Gamblers may look over their shoulder now, but experts say a new Internet gambling ban won't keep bettors from ponying up, just turn them on to overseas payment services out of the law's reach.
''It has put a terrible scare into people,'' said I. Nelson Rose, who teaches gambling law at Whittier Law School. ''But it won't by any means wipe out Internet gambling.''
The fright swept through the $12 billion industry on the heels of the recent arrests of two gambling company executives and a new law President George W. Bush signed Oct. 13 that seeks to ban most online gambling and criminalizes funds transfers.
I'm glad this article was run today in the Times because I've been wondering about something for the past few days. If one goes into almost any commercial establishment's restroom these days, placed over the urinal or next to the sink, one will find relentless advertising for online gambling sites. And I mean relentless. In addition, the company that owns PartyPoker.com must spend millions in televised advertising. Why am I not seeing bathroom ads for NYC weed delivery services? The drug trade must equal the gambling industry in revenues at least.
I think the recent crackdown has less to do with a moral objection to gambling than a way for established corporations that operate huge casinos involving massive capital investments to attempt to stifle competition. That's too bad and will ultimately force gamblers into shadier and shadier unaccountable online venues or traditional local sportsbook operations, whose operators are more likely to bust your kneecaps than ruin your credit rating.
NB: I'll admit that I have a gambling problem. While I don't care to play or lose money on craps, poker, the slots, black jack or sports, I can't resist a good game of Left-Right-Center. Before anyone gets too concerned, LRC is the ultimate in low-stakes gambling. It's a dice game played with dimes, quarters, or dollars. It's about as nefarious a pastime as spin the bottle. The low stakes and fact that no one is eliminated from the game until the final roll makes it about 90%-less-tension-filled than your average Monopoly game, but as lively as a group around a craps table. So every few weeks, when someone says "Who wants to play Left-Right-Center?!" at a party or elsewhere, I find it hard to resist. I would estimate my total losses to this pastime over the past year to be under $10, while I strongly suspect I'm on the plus side. That's a gambling problem I can live with.
Tagged:Posted by Lexiphane at October 24, 2006 4:40 PM
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