The US ban on online gambling sites, including games of skill such as poker, is once again being called into question. The House Judiciary committee is examining the online gambling laws, and considering the testimony of parties as diverse as professional poker players, philosophers, international law experts, and family research advocates.
In October of 2006, the then Senate majority leader Bill Frist managed to tack on the “unlawful Internet gambling enforcement act” into a bill to heighten US port security. Since that time, American gambling advocates have been outraged by what they see as a clear violation of individual rights under the U. S. Constitution.
Polls indicate that there are some 28 million Americans who identify themselves as regular poker players who would like the opportunity to play online, according to salon.com. And there is even pressure coming from outside the US to abolish the gambling ban. The world trade organization has pointed out that the US ban on Internet gambling violates international law, and counteracts several international treaties which the United States has signed along with its allies.
The WTO has been particularly outraged by the United States’ attempts to prosecute online gambling companies operating outside of American territory. This is in clear violation of international law, and amounts to the United States “thumbing its nose” at its international treaty obligations.
It seems the biggest proponents for the Internet gambling ban are the so-called “family research” lobbies, but it would appear that their position is somewhat tenuous at the moment. The family research Council’s Tom McClusky changed his opinion and definition of gambling several times during the hearings this week.
For example, when pressed to define which type of gaming his organization objected to, McClusky was forced to admit that it is not simply Internet gambling that they would like ban, but all gambling, including state lotteries and Native American casinos. At one point, Congressman Steve Cohen, D- Tennessee, asked McClusky straight out, “is there any fun that you are for?”
This shows clearly that so-called family-oriented lobbies in Washington do not have the power they once did, and they are likely to have a much harder time justifying the ban against online gaming this time. And when combined with international pressures, such as those brought to bare by the world trade organization, it appears less likely than ever that the ban on Internet gambling will stand.
The real question for now is how the democratically controlled Congress will choose to deal with this issue in the run-up to the 2008 presidential election. Experts expect the Congress to do very little until after the new president is in office, so online gamblers may just have to wait a little longer.
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