Congress Fails Again

Instead of going after illegal bookies they have been pushing for a general prohibition of online gambling.

Koleman Strumpf, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of North Carolina stated that prohibitions against online gambling will not have any effect on the amount of gaming dollars spent in the US because many of the casinos are operated offshore. Almost two thousand gambling sites are in service now and most of them are not located in the continental US.

The professor also stated that a policy making gambling illegal will have a negative effect on the economy due to a demand for underground gambling. He used the current illegal sport betting epidemic to illustrate what will happen if congress continues to push anti gambling laws.

Furthermore, prohibiting gambling may drive some online casinos away from the US but it will not have any effect on the amount of gamers entering the sites. It would therefore be better to legalize internet casinos, place policies to limit excessive gambling and eliminate criminal activities.