Tuesday, October 10, 2006

It's an election year and already one of the biggest issues that has many
voters' attention isn't the scandal of Mark Foley and the congressional page
who he instant messaged for a year and a half, but it is a bill in which the
government is prepared to crack down on online gambling. But is this bill
going to stop and industry that has millionaires out of a few but has
continued to send people into bankruptcy faster than some bad real estate
get quick rich schemes the answer to a problem that may not be a problem?
That depends on which side of the fence are you on. When it comes to online
gambling, whether you are talking about online casinos or you are talking
about offshore betting houses for sporting events, what must be addressed by
Congress is why an industry has allowed certain programming to be it's milk
and butter during a weekend. That industry I am talking about is the radio
industry and namely sports talk radio stations. On any given Saturday or
Sunday morning, hundreds of local sports talk radio stations use them to
hock their own shows that are strictly for the gambling public. When you
have local and national programming being influenced by these shows, it will
be hard for the legislature in Washington, D.C. to try to regulate a free
press because that is where you have to start in regulating this industry.
But the legislators are not looking at this avenue because they don't think
that is the problem. America if you want to stop a problem like online
gambling, you have to attack some sources that may not have been on your
target radar. As unpleasant and un-American as it may seem, to tackle
offshore betting, you have to do more than put into words a bill that
regulates your home or business computer; you will have to literally make
such programming like sports betting shows that are seen on television or
heard on radio stations illegal because they fuel an illegal activity.

It can be a very precarious situation during an election year but that is
the avenue the Congress may have to take if they are serious about
eradicating online gambling in this country. But for now, this industry will
continue to thrive and make money for some and bankrupt others. And sadly
that includes probably a few people on Capitol Hill who are frequenters to
these sites as well.