Colorado Congressman Says Internet Gambling Ban Failed
US Representative Jared Polis of Colorado writes in this week's Roll Call that the attempted online casino ban is a failed policy, and should be replaced with regulation of Internet gambling. He notes that the freedom implicit in the nature of the Internet allows people to patronize online gambling sites, and that regulation would best serve the US and its residents.Polis is a leading Congressional advocate for Internet freedoms, and speaks of the opportunities for consumers and the economy via online expansions. He says that such problematic, misdirected legislation as the UIGEA only succeeded in "forcing many responsible, publicly traded online gambling operators to stop accepting wagers from consumers in the U.S.," while allowing many shadier outfits to fill the void.
"There is no meaningful enforcement mechanism against offshore operators," write Polis.
Polis pans the online casino ban as leaving US consumers unprotected, while allowing the flow of billions of dollars to leave the country untaxed. He points out the numerous objections to the UIGEA by the struggling financial sector, and the disputes with the WTO and US trading partners since the attempted gaming ban.
Polis says Barney Frank is to be commended for "introducing a common-sense framework that would allow adult Americans to gamble online in the privacy of their own homes in a regulated environment that offers numerous consumer protections."
And Polis illustrates a point often left undiscussed: that US citizens, given a choice, would most likely prefer reputable and audited online casinos and Internet gambling sites run in the US over foreign sites they are now forced to patronize.
