Bob Barr Calls for Legalized Online Gambling
Bob Barr, fresh off his Presidential campaign last fall, has announced he is in favor of legalized online gambling. Barr, the Libertarian Presidential candidate last election, says he also supports Barney Frank's bill regulating Internet gaming, although he finds some flaws in the proposal.
Writing in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Barr says that there is no valid reason to "empower the federal government to continue prohibiting people from using the Internet to place bets." He states that ridding the books of the UIGEA and limiting the Wire Act are the most necessary parts of Frank's measures.
While Barr admits he doesn't feel comfortable with compromises in the Frank bill, such as retaining the ban on sports betting, he still argues any movement in the direction of freedom is good movement.
Barr also notes a regrettable consequence of the Frank proposal would be an expansion of federal bureaucracy, creating a whole new regulating sub-division in the Department of the Treasury to monitor online casinos. But he writes, "If the only way to restore freedom in this respect is to put up with some form of regulation, let’s at least keep the regulatory aspect to a minimum and maximize the ability of adults to place bets online."
Bob Barr is a former Republican US Representative from Georgia. He left the Republican Party as he saw Christian social conservatism overwhelm the libertarian economic conservatism faction as the party's base. He joined the Libertarian Party in 2006, and has even reversed his position on the War on Drugs, calling now for an end to the prohibition he so long supported.
