Going even further, Cigital, a software company, researched a poker site's shuffling algorithm (Rubin). After some work, they found that given the weak algorithm, the computer could figure out the exact order of the deck after viewing only five cards. Although they did not make any money off this technique, they very well could have. When a gambler walks into a real casino, they see security guards, cameras and actual people. They know the casino is not a fly-by operation, and can be relatively assured that rules will be followed. However, there is no assurance that online casinos will follow the rules of the house. How would an online gambler know if there were only 51 cards in the deck instead of 52? The risks might be considered insurmountable. .
Moral and Privacy Issues.
On one hand, it is immoral for the government to sit idly while legitimate or illegitimate casinos take advantage of their citizens. On the other hand, is it moral for the government to have the right to "spy" on us and find out which of us is gambling? A decision made in favor of banning online gambling would be a serious challenge to privacy and personal rights. Senators, House Representatives and citizens alike are debating this conundrum. Republican Ron Paul summed up the argument against government regulation when he said " I don't happen to like gambling, and I think it is rather dumb, to tell you the truth, but in a free society, people should have the right to do dumb things." (Crews Jr.).
Legal Issues.
Currently, the laws regarding online gambling are extremely vague. There is a law outlawing interstate gambling on sports "by phone or wire", called the Federal Wire Act, that has already been passed, albeit in 1960 (Gallaway). The Federal Government tends to view online gambling as covered under that law, and hence decides online gambling is illegal. However, federal courts have questioned this interpretation, which is precisely why Republican Jim Leach is sponsoring the Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (Horn), designed to ban online gambling explicitly.