Banning online gambling counterproductive
Keith Furlong, deputy director of the Vancouver, British Columbia-based Interactive Gaming Council has said that banning online gambling is counterproductive.
"While the bill sponsors may have good intentions, they're not protecting consumers," Furlong said. "They have turned some of the most responsible, legitimate public companies out of the U.S. market."Online gambling companies traded on the London Stock Exchange shed their US players soon after President Bush signed off on the anti-online gambling bill earlier this year.Michael Bolcerek, president of the San Francisco-based Poker Players Alliance was quoted as saying that ''Illicit companies could take their place, sparking the creation of the online equivalent of speakeasie'' This would possibly lead to an increased amount of fraud and unsafe online-gambling transactions, he added.
''The best way to deal with online gambling is by legally regulating it so it's safe for consumers and taxing it so it benefits the government'' Mr. Bolcerek went on to say.
Mr. Bolcerek underlined that fact that the US federal government could profit by more than $3 billion in tax revenues each year from properly regulated online gambling.
posted by Ian from egaming pulse
