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Sunday, August 14, 2011
Ind. Gov't. - "Starved State Budgets Inspire New Look at Web Gambling"
That is the headline to this NY Times story by Matt Richtel. Some quotes from the long story:
By year’s end the District of Columbia hopes to introduce an Internet gambling hub that would allow Washington residents to play blackjack, poker and other casino-style games.“They can do it from Starbucks, a restaurant, bar or hotel, or from a private residence,” said Buddy Roogow, executive director of the D.C. Lottery, who expects the new games to eventually raise $9 million a year. “That’s real money in D.C.”
It’s an idea gaining currency around the country: virtual gambling as part of the antidote to local budget woes. The District of Columbia is the first to legalize it, while Iowa is studying it, and bills are pending in places like California and Massachusetts.
But the states may run into trouble with the Justice Department, which has been cracking down on all forms of Internet gambling. And their efforts have given rise to critics who say legalized online gambling will promote addictive wagering and lead to personal debt troubles.
The states say they will put safeguards in place to deal with the potential social ills. And they say they need the money from online play, which will supplement the taxes they already receive from gambling at horse tracks, poker houses and brick-and-mortar casinos. * * *
In the past, federal prosecutors have sent letters to a handful of states telling them that federal law prohibits “all forms” of online gambling. And in 2006, Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act, which prohibits businesses from taking the proceeds of illegal bets placed over the Internet.
But legal experts say the law sent a mixed message to the states. It seems to carve out an explicit exception for states to run online gambling operations. But in the bill’s legislative history, it says it is not meant to amend existing law on the subject, which can be taken to mean that the Wire Act prohibitions still apply, said Mark Hichar, a lawyer who specializes in gambling law at Edwards, Angell, Palmer & Dodge in Boston.
“The legislative history is a real head-scratcher,” Mr. Hichar said.
Arthur Terzakis, staff director of the Committee on Governmental Organization, a legislative policy committee in the California State Senate, said the 2006 law “gives states the right to do this.”
Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 14, 2011 11:34 AM
Posted to Indiana Government