Annenberg Survey Shows Online Casino Ban Ineffective

Regulation would allow government weapons with which to discipline Internet casinos that were not vigilant about age verification.

The Annenberg Public Policy Center, a branch of the University of Pennsylvania, has released the results of its Annual Survey of Youth. The study, which compiles statistics relevant to young people and their experiences, includes a sampling of attitudes toward online gambling.

This year's survey found that, while the fad for playing online poker has faded in the fourteen-to twenty-two age group, access to online casinos is still available to adolescents who employ a third-party payment system. Statistics indicate that over 300,000 in the target age group play at Internet gambling sites at least once a week, and over 700,000 do so at least once a month.

This is startling news, considering the massive investment in laws, man-hours, and expenses in the attempt by the US to ban online casinos, specifically so as to protect the children. Annenberg policy experts last year had recommended education of the public and regulation of the Internet gaming industry as more efficent ways to guard children than a ban.

Taking into the account the vast numbers of youth still involved in online gambling after several years of legal efforts to block access, the ban must be considered a total failure. Software that, under regulation, would block underage participation would almost certainly decrease the numbers of chldren playing at casinos. Regulation would allow government weapons with which to discipline Internet casinos that were not vigilant about age verification.

Many anti-gambling fanatics use the Annenberg statistics to show the need to address the online gambling issue. Unfortunately, they do not realize their very actions have increased the dangers against which they warn. Still, more and more lawmakers seem intent on removing the ban and instituting a policy of regulation toward Internet gaming.