Saturday, August 05, 2006

As part of House Speaker Dennis Hastert's (R-IL) agenda to force Americans
to abide with his moral beliefs, Congress is now trying to outlaw Internet
gambling. Hastert listed the prohibition of Internet gambling in his
recently announced American Values Agenda. The House of Representatives
already passed H.R. 4411, The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of
2006. This attempt to cut off Internet gambling by Americans bans financial
payments to offshore casinos. The Senate will be tackling this issue after
it returns from its August recess. The House version of the bill passed by a
vote of 317-93. Should the Senate pass the (same general version of) the
bill, it would force U.S. financial institutions to cut off payments to the
thousands of popular online gambling institutions legally located outside of
U.S. boundaries. The bill won't impact state sponsored gambling, such as
lotteries and horse racing. "States have always had the right to approve and
regulate gambling within their borders," according to the bill's sponsor Bob
Goodlatte (R-VA). "This bill makes Internet gambling illegal except where
regulated by the states."

This legislation coincides with the 22-count indictment against eleven
people and four corporations for Internet gambling related charges. Among
those charged with racketeering, conspiracy and fraud were Gary Kaplan and
David Carruthers of BetonSports.com.

Additionally, the World Trade Organization has been asked to settle disputes
between the country of Antigua and Barbuda and the U.S. over recent
prohibitions to online gambling. According to Antiguan authorities, the U.S.
has taken no measures to comply with the recommendations and rulings of the
WTO Dispute Settlement Body on the issue.

"It's clear that Hastert and Goodlatte are trying to force their moral views
on the entire country. Hastert's already added a gay marriage ban to his
agenda," said Stephen Gordon, the Libertarian Party's communication
director. "Hopefully, they don't plan to impose blue laws or prohibit
alcohol, pre-marital sex and dancing, too."

The Libertarian Party has a 35 year commitment to keeping government out of
people's wallets as well as their bedrooms. According to Gordon, this latest
move by Congress violates both of these general standards.