Why is it illegal to gamble online? And do you agree with it?

Answer 1

Strange, I know half a dozen places to gamble on line. I never heard it was illegal.

Answer 2

Several people have already mentioned that gambling online won't be technically illegal. As for the why, there are probably two main reasons.

The first is that a lot of people don't like gambling. They claim it destroys families, leads to gambling addicts, etc. Not that that stops them from going out to the local bar and enjoying a nice, cold, alcoholic beverage, but that's their argument. That bunch of people have convinced government to outlaw most gambling.

Second, and resulting from the first, is that because the government has taken a stand against gambling here in the United States, there's a bunch of REALLY cranky gambling companies in Las Vegas. Current US laws prohibit online gambling sites in the United States, hence most of those sites are headquartered overseas. This has left many US companies sitting on the sidelines of a mutli-billion dollar industry. If I had to put money on it (pun intended), I'd say they made some calls to their congresspeople.

Plus, Congress can't figure out how to tax online gamblers. That really drives 'em mad.

Answer 3

The online gambling isn't illegal. In fact, it won't be illegal when President Bush signs the law. It will be illegal for banks to make payments to gambling sites which will force the sites out of the USA market. The act of gambling itself will not be illegal, but it will be difficult and nearly impossible to find a reliable place to make a bet where you can be sure that you will get paid.

It will be the equivalent of going to have a back-alley abortion if you wager at the sites that are still pursuing the USA market.

If it pisses you off, you can voice your discontent at http://www.petitiononline.com/LOGNOW/petition.html

Personally, I am extremely angry at this law and will never vote for a Republican again. Their religious right cohorts orchestrated this entire fiasco.

Answer 4

Technically it is not illegal to gamble online yet. The government has just passed the online gaming bill by attaching it to a totally unrelated bill. This bill doesn't specifically make online gambling illegal either, it just makes it illegal for U.S. banks or credit card companies to allow you to make deposits to online gaming companies. They have something like 240 days to clarify the language of the bill and if they don't it pretty much just fizzles. It is however illegal to place wagers over telephone lines. So I guess if you have dial up internet access it is illegal.

As for how I feel about it, I think it sucks. My husband is a stay at home dad and he supplements our income with internet poker. Yes he does actually make money doing this and no he isn't just lucky. If you know the math you can beat the game in the long run. It isn't just a bunch of gambling addicts. The online gaming sites impose restrictions on how much and how often you can deposit in order to deter that kind of behavior. It seems to me that it would benefit all for the government to allow online gaming openly and regulate it. Can we say major tax revenues.

Answer 5

The hypocrite politicians don't care so much about the gambling -- and what it does to addicts and their families. They care about missing out on a share -- about not being able to tax it because it's offshore.

Answer 6

Because politicians decided it should be illegal.

No, if you want to gamble online, you should be able to.

Answer 7

Because our politicians can't figure out a way to tax it without allowing them to set up their servers in the US, so they figure they'd just ban it.

dirty rotten b@stards!

incase you haven't heard: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061002/wl_uk_afp/britainusinternetonlinegamblingcompany_061002131543