Online Gambling Crackdown Pushes Super Bowl Bettors... Online
from the circle-of-futility dept
The recent crackdown on online gambling has been pretty silly. Both because of the inherent hypocrisy of the government carving out exceptions for certain types of gambling, like lotteries and horse racing, but also because it won't stop gambling. Instead, it will just drive gamblers to less honest and regulated venues. The WSJ takes a look at gambling surrounding the upcoming Super Bowl, and says that the online crackdown on legitimate, regulated casinos is sending people eager for a bet back to their local bookies, who ironically are now increasingly using web sites to handle their bookmaking. Again, this would seem to expose the misguided nature of the online crackdown. Instead of regulating and taxing the industry, apparently it's preferable to drive it underground and lead gamblers into relationships with shady bookies and criminals -- who have little incentive to act fairly, or concern themselves with regulation. Furthermore, it's still difficult to understand why the puritanical streak when it comes to online betting and card games allows for distinctions for other types of gambling. In any case, it's really hard to see how this crackdown really is beneficial in any way, even from some skewed moral ground, when you consider that it may be reducing one undesirable "crime", but it's merely diverting funds to other unlawful and unwanted activities by sending gamblers underground.
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in time, gov't will realize it's losing money and change their ways. much like prohibition before.
sure, over use of said product is bad for you, but just as many, if not more are responsible.
but it may have the DIFT* mentallity (do it for the [insert misguided/underprotected group here])
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any takers
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Gambling is a scourge on the community (except when it is properly taxed or the income goes to government coffers).
Why not legalize murder? You just have to buy a license from the state...
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Legalize everything
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Re: Legalize everything
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Re: Legalize everything
But wait, then everyone would have to take responsibility for their own actions...
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Re: Legalize everything
It is the hard honest truth that people will do what they want to do regardless of laws, and it is foolish to criminalize anything that does not do direct harm. Things like guns, drugs, gambling, and other illicit things/activities really should not be held responsible, but rather those people whom are being irresponsible with those things/activities.
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Because someone is making billions already
Because someone is making billions on it already ;)
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Regulate and Tax it
The Netherlands, they regulate and tax prostitution. Now prostitutes and their client pay income and sales tax. Prostitutes are safer, human trafficking has decreased and police has more time to crack down on things that matter.
Making such things illegal only drives it underground, you will never get rid of it, on the contrary. The government tried it with alcohol. Right, that was a brilliant idea, everybody obediently stopped drinking. Would Capone have become such a big criminal had we never had the prohibition? I doubt it.
This whole thing just proves that once you are elected into office, you immediately loose your common sense.
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Re: Regulate and Tax it
correct me if i'm wrong, please
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Re: Re: Regulate and Tax it
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Re: Re: Regulate and Tax it
And anyone who says it doesn't make sense to legalize marijuana: explain to me how it makes sense that a five month old baby can get a gun permit? ( true story )
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+1
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Vegas
Ever wonder why it's legal to do anything in Atlantic City - except bet sports? Why could you bet on blackjack or craps, or horses - but not on sports? It's because sports betting is controlled accross the US by Vegas and the US gov.
Your 'local' guy takes action on team A and team B on any given game. Let's say he gets 10000 on A, and 5000 on B. He assumse no risk and makes $500 on that game no matter what. He just calls a guy up the chain and lays off 5k on team A. This balancing act happens all the way up stream until the actual risk is assumed in vegas by the mob and taxed by the US gov.
By keeping the chain of command controlled from one spot, adjustments can be made efficiently - the spread could be moved, or the refs could be paid off, etc... Whatever it takes. It's all about money.
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Keep it in the Family
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I think the online gambling laws are a big farce.
I guess the government just wants to keep all those gambling dollars in their own state coffers!
And the only reason Pot is illegal is to keep the Pharmaceutical company's selling pain killers - hell, if pot was legal, I'd say 25% of pain medication would suddenly become 100% useless.
After all - what's better a natural painkiller or a chemical cocktail? Just compare the number of deaths on the highways *alone* between Alcohol and Pot - the numbers are *vastly* different. More people die on the roads each year due directly to Alcohol related incidents than in homicides in US cities, and Soldiers in Iraq - COMBINED! - by US Government Statistics.
Let's add to this the 7,000 deaths per year due directly to drug interaction and/or bad prescriptions of LEGAL pharmaceuticals.
47,000 Per year - Die from either booze or pharmaceuticals. Statistically
According to the FBI: "An estimated 16,692 persons were murdered nationwide in 2005, an increase of 3.4 percent from the 2004 figure."
Add to that the number of American Deaths in Iraq per year, right around 850, we'll say 1000 to be sure we're not under estimating.
17,692 Deaths -- Iraq and Murder TOTAL
47,000 Deaths -- Alcohol Related and Pharmaceutical
Hmm - Booze and Prescription drugs kill more people each year than Murder and the war in Iraq. Even if we say a 5% increase in Murder per year since 2005, there are still TWICE the number of dead bodies due to Prescription Drugs and Drinking and Driving....
And Pot's a problem?????? Online Gambling's a Problem????
Which is more of a problem? Unless the Government's lying about the statistics, clearly Pot, Gambling, Prostitution, Porn, are all MINOR problems, indeed.
Why are politicians sitting around worrying about online gambling when there are OBVIOUSLY other FAR more severe issues at hand?
Oh...... money..
The number of pot related deaths due to smoking and driving is almost zero - as they can make no direct link to it. But then, it may well just be possible that most pot smokers are able to use better judgment when it comes to mixing recreational use and driving~~ :)
Pot is a bit different of an animal though, it's hard to tax what one could easily grow if it was legal and they know this.
Might I suggest voting for non-incumbents who don't follow the major party lines? Maybe someone who actually cares?
I've heard from the Democrats and Republicans that voting for the third parties is a waisted vote... Oh contraire~~ voting for the same ol' crap in office is a waisted vote.
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My Favorite Quote
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numbers mean nothing
of course more people die of alcohol than pot. There are more alcohol drinkers than pot smokers. There is more alcohol than pot in the country, and alcohol use is more common than pot use. It only stands to reason there will be more alcohol related car crashes.
There's more legal drug deaths than pot deaths because more people take legal drugs than smoke pot.
If you have 100 red balls and 5 blue balls in a bag.. and you pick out 10 balls.. you're going to have mostly red balls. It's just probability.
Your numbers prove nothing.
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I hear things like that all the time. There are so many articles about how the government is trying to strangle the casino. But it won't change anything. You are right, if a person starts to ban something, he will go to another kind of business, such as sports betting. I read on site https://www.betonymous.com/bookmakers/sportingbet that such actions only increase the number of people willing to bet and turn to bookmakers.
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