DriveThru – Get What You Need

A new Public Mind Poll from Fairleigh Dickinson University (3-11-2010), surveyed more than 1000 adults nationally about gambling issues.

The bottom line? Keep Las Vegas in Las Vegas!

• 67% – or two-thirds – of respondents want Internet gambling to remain illegal

• 46% said casinos have a negative local impact, while 38% say casinos have a positive impact (remaining didn’t know)

• A majority also opposed sports betting and legalizing sports betting for government revenues.

Memo to Rep. Barney Frank:
The majority of people (67%) do not want Internet gambling legalized.

Please stop being a finger puppet for the foreign, online gambling cartel. Stop your reckless push to legalize and tax online gambling.

If Americans don’t want a single casino in their own town, they certainly don’t want several thousand online casinos piped into their homes!

Please represent the U.S. citizens who elected you – not the foreign gambling cartel (and their money). Please stop gambling with our economy and being irresponsible. Put this issue to bed.

Please do implement UIGEA regulations that prohibit illegal, online gambling payments. This allows states to decide what forms of gambling are legal, gives voters a voice and offers greater protection for families and children.

Thank you for listening.

Sincerely,
Responsible citizens who care more about families and the future of our Nation than we care about foreign gambling interests and poker

__________________

Read more about the battle to keep families protected from online gambling predators.

There’s a place where you’ll find both kids and criminals: online casinos.

Federal prosecutors just indicted a Canadian resident on charges of bank fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling crimes, allegedly related to illegally processing more than $350 million for Internet gambling operations. Crime and corruption are no strangers to gambling, but for parents who doubt their children would ever engage in online gambling, think again.

Some may recall the story of Greg Hogan, Sophomore Class President at Lehigh University, who became addicted to online gambling and turned criminal to support his new-found vice. More recently, a South African dad was shocked to find that his 17-year-old son had lost R30,000 ($3,743 USD) by gambling only two hours online.

In Canada, where Internet gambling has been legalized, researcher Dr. Derevensky of McGill University finds that teens and “tweens” are logging onto Web-based casinos in huge numbers and little is being done to address the problem.

“There’s a lack of general awareness that gambling can become a problem amongst teens,” says Derevensky. Rates of problem gambling are two to three times higher in adolescents than adults, and many addicted adults began gambling between the ages of 10 and 13.

Canadian minors virtually have unrestricted access to online casinos. Teens lie about their age by checking a box that “confirms” they are 18. Using the “honesty policy” for gambling? Deception and exploitation are king. Internet gambling: dangerous playground for kids and criminals.

Don’t bet on Internet gambling becoming legal anytime soon. The Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association (iMEGA) challenged the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) in an oral argument on June 7, 2009, in the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. The hearing did not bode well for the online gambling interests, who are pushing to legalize Internet gambling in the U.S.

Prior to the hearing, online gambling’s iMEGA chairman, Joe Brennan Jr., smugly remarked, “This law will finally have to stand on it’s own two feet in court, free from politics and all other outside influences. We feel very confident that when the judges take a look at the law, they will see just how defective it is, and they will overturn it.” That didn’t happen. And, ironically, it’s the “other outside influences,” like foreign Internet gambling interests, who are pushing U.S. politicians to overturn UIGEA.

The two iMEGA lawyers attempting to overturn UIGEA met sober opposition with their tired arguments. They claimed that UIGEA is too ambiguous and it violates gamblers’ First Amendment rights. Their arguments were aptly rejected by the three judges who were not impressed.

The 3rd Circuit judges discarded the supposed ambiguity in UIGEA. “I’m struggling with what’s vague …” said Judge Kent, “[gamblers] could have a beef [with state laws] … that doesn’t mean this statute is vague [UIGEA].”

None was impressed with iMEGA’s arguments claiming that UIGEA violates gamblers’ First Amendment rights. Judge Ambro asked one of the iMEGA attorneys, “Are you asserting that you have a privacy right that trumps the police powers of the state?”

Overall, the judges seemed to unanimously uphold UIGEA and the face of Internet gambling’s oral arguments. More to come as Rep. Frank attempts to overturn UIGEA with his bill to legalize Internet gambling (H.R. 2267), but the House Financial Committee has more important, pressing concerns with the teetering U.S. economy.

• Read a summary of the 3rd Circuit – iMEGA hearing on Law.com
• Read more about the ongoing efforts to protect families against illegal, predatory online gambling operations …
• Read the UIGEA Fact booklet
• CitizenLink.com News
• Read the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in Title VIII of the SAFE Port Act of 2006 (H.R. 4954)