The internet has vastly changed the way business has been operating in the past 10 years. The internet has now become a huge medium for gambling, whether casino betting or sports betting. With online gambling come huge debates about whether it is legally, by state and federal law, and morally "right." Many states have been trying to ban online gambling, but there are too many loopholes in state regulation laws for gambling which I will discuss.
An article from the E-Commerce Times entitled "Online Gambling is here to Stay" summarizes the problems very well. U.S. Representative Bob Goodlatte has been one of many opponents trying to pass anti-gambling bills for years. Every time he proposes a bill, it is rejected, and he revises it. One of Bob's major problems in trying to pass a bill to make online gambling illegal is that many question whether he thinks online gambling is morally wrong or legally wrong. Bob's real problem though lies with the jurisdiction of Bob's targets because many of them are operating outside the U.S. Horses racing betting and Native-American casinos are also putting in their two cents on the gambling issue. They are worried that Goodlatte is trying to shut them down too, but as of now he is staying away from those industries.
I find myself very much on the side of Goodlatte on this issue. First, I think the legal issues are the most important. I am very familiar with the internet and I have read about many fraud cases. Hackers today are so sophisticated that they can hack into even the most sensitive government files. But they don't even need knowledge like that to gamble illegally online. The problem with online gambling is virtually anyone with a credit card number and an address can gamble online. I find it very disturbing that someone can take my credit card number and gamble with my money online. .
Another legal issue is the unbelievable issue of jurisdiction.
