Beware the Dangers of Online Gambling Says Wildly Rich, Totally Uninterested Casino Owner
Townhall cited Michelle Minton on the fact how at least one-percent of gamblers, no matter the restrictions or type of gambling, they will develop a gambling addiction.
Sheldon Adelson is concerned about problem gambling. He’s also concerned about underage gambling, international terrorists using gambling operations to move and hide money, jobs being lost to competition from other gambling outfits and, of course, the threat to the public interest posed by additional gambling outlets hitting the market.
…
RAWA, which would restore the former interpretation of the Wire Act and make online gambling illegal again in all states, would not seem a priority for Congress. But it has the kind of quirky combination of support that sometimes can pull off the improbable. Moderate Lindsey Graham usually carries this legislation in the Senate; leadership on the issue in the House has ranged from social conservatives such as Trent Franks of Arizona to Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania, who embodies the party’s moderate, pro-business wing.
And Adelson has purchased more than a fair hearing. Republicans may well not enjoy a majority in the Senate today if not for Adelson giving more than $13 million to candidates, the party and other entities, during the midterm election of 2014. He wrote a $5 million check to help fund President Trump’s inauguration.
The truth is this is a smokescreen. States that already have online gambling have proven methods to prevent minors or people from other states from participating in their games. Casinos may have come up with ways to spot problem gamblers, but so would online gambling companies, who would have electronic records of the use and money spent by their customers.
Besides, as Michelle Minton of the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute points out, about 1 percent of gamblers develop an addiction, and this is consistent no matter what forms of gambling are offered.
Read the full article at Townhall.