Gambling online is a fact of life. Since the Internet has become an everyday tool, many local, state and federal bureaucrats have been doing everything they can to try to regulate the business.
This may come as a surprise to many residents in the Garden State, but making that Internet sports bet, or playing a chip in a virtual casino is illegal in this state.
It is amazing that in a state that boasts having Atlantic City, the gambling mecca of the Northeast, online betting is off limits.
Could it be that local and state government tills are not reaping any financial benefits from online gambling establishments, as they do from Atlantic City casinos?
Perhaps local and state politicians want to use regulations to tap into the online gambling business and the billions of dollars it produces each year.
It’s funny that large credit card companies are beginning to protect themselves from being liable for out of control gambling debts by preventing the use of their cards for online gambling.
In Atlantic City, gamblers only have to take a few steps to reach the nearest ATM for cash advances on their credit cards, which can put problem gamblers in massive debt.
State politicians don’t seem to mind that. Maybe that’s because they get a cut of the money the casinos make.
State and local politicians seem to be overstepping their boundaries.
How can the state attempt to regulate businesses that are based in foreign countries?
What right does the state have to regulate the Internet — considered a technological frontier by many.
What adult needs a politician to regulate what they do in their spare time?
Too many politicians are forcing their morals and beliefs down their constituents’ throats through legislation, all in the name of morality.
The only area where politicians have any argument to pass legislation regarding Internet gambling is with kids.
When it comes to children, a parental block should be created to prevent online gambling by kids.
According to Kerry Hand of the state’s gaming enforcement division, for gambling online to be made legal in the state, voters must specifically approve a change to the state Constitution.
Many people may feel that it is OK to play in a virtual casino originating halfway across the world and they have every right to feel that way.
The 1,800 Internet companies operating outside the U.S. should not be shut down by any of us alone. Gambling online is legal in some 50 countries and jurisdictions around the world, according to the U.S. General Accounting Office.
The complicated maze of laws currently surrounding the issue will make it virtually impossible to outlaw it.
Just as hard is stopping people here from betting on those Web sites.
Politicians should stop stepping into the personal lives and homes of state residents through regulations.
Instead of realizing that the majority of their constituents are responsible adults, politicians tend to treat the public like little children.
It’s time to live and let live, freely and without the constant threat of new legislation that inhibits the freedom of choice for all of this state’s residents.