Supporting Online Gaming Is No Gamble

House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank has proposed repealing last Fall’s ban on Internet gambling, though according to the punsters at the Associated Press, the bill could be facing “long odds”:

Supporters of the U.S. ban maintain that Internet betting can be addictive and potentially drain people’s savings, a risk they say is especially acute for young people who are frequently online.

Frank acknowledged that the Democratic leadership of the House likely would not support it. The Bush administration also could be expected to oppose the legislation.

The vote for the ban in the House, for example, was 317-93 last year. Lobbying for it were the horse racing industry and professional sports leagues, which argued that Web wagering could hurt the integrity of their sports.

No comparable measure has emerged in the Senate.

The integrity of the horse racing industry? Riiiiight. You know what, I’ll let Jon Stewart and Ted Stevens explain it. We start with the Series of Tubes, and we hit the online gambling bit about two and a half minutes in: