Internet gambling Essay

Internet gambling represents one of the fastest growing segments of online activities with hundreds of websites providing users the opportunity to place bets on anything, ranging from casino games to sporting events. Billions of dollars in bets are placed each day in these online gambling rings. Thousands of these sites exist and many countries’ economies benefit from them. Sadly, America’s leaders fail to see the benefits in allowing online gambling to take place on American soil. Whether it be for recreation or as their only source of income, hundreds of thousands of Americans participate in the phenomenon known as online gambling. For the countries (Great Britain, France, and a number of islands in the Caribbean) that host these sites, it means millions of dollars being taxed each year for allowing the gambling sites to exist. President Bush signed into effect in mid-October a bill that outlaws sending credit card payments or other funds to websites involved with online gambling. Consequently, many of the stocks of these corporations are bound to decrease severely, potentially hurting the nations’ economy. A countless number of college students across America participate in online gambling, a small percentage of those depending solely on the money they make from gambling to pay for their tuition. This new law will leave these people scrambling to find jobs to stay in school. If the job search fails, these students will be forced to go deep into debt by taking out loans or drop out of college altogether, thereby making the United States lose valuable money that these students are paying for their education. Putting internet poker aside for now, online sports wagering has been around for as long as anyone can remember. Before the new bill passed, a person could sign onto a gambling site, enter their handle and password, and have unlimited access to hundreds of betting lines, point spreads, and over/under numbers. One more click and they can place their bets on the game or race of their choice. With the new law, the aforementioned is a part of the distant past. Place a bet over the phone and rest easy. Place the same bet online and face stiff penalties including steep fines and possibly jail time. This simply doesn’t make sense. America has tried prohibition before, in the 1920’s. Despite the government’s best efforts, Americans continued to consume alcohol. Seeing that they were missing out on a huge source of revenue, legislators reversed the law and began taxing the alcohol. This new internet gambling law works in much the same way, forbidding the participation in online gambling to everyone on American soil. However, the internet’s boundaries stretch further than any government on earth can ever begin to regulate fully. With many people being computer literate these days, it is undoubtedly impossible to stop these people from finding ways around the law. Much like the prohibition law of the 1920s, America’s government is missing out on a huge amount of taxable income. This definitely could help the government pull out of the extreme debt they are in. Prohibiting internet gambling also goes against one of the unalienable rights that America was founded upon: the pursuit of happiness. Gambling has the potential to make people happy, and prohibiting them from participating in it goes against the Declaration of Independence that our founding fathers laid down as rules for Americans to abide by. Although legislators have succeeded in passing a law against internet gambling, it will be found virtually impossible to enforce it. States will begin to grow tired of watching potential tax revenue float over to other countries. The move that makes the most sense for the American government is to legalize internet gambling, tax the income it generates, and increase the economy. After all, abiding by the immortal words spoken by Kenny Rogers in â€Å"The Gambler,† Americans should â€Å"know when to hold ? em, know when to fold ? em, know when to walk away, and know when to run. â€Å"