Two global online gambling companies have halted U.S. operations after the
U.S. Senate criminalized such activity, sending their shares plummeting
Monday.
Lawmakers early Saturday outlawed the processing of bets by U.S. residents
by banks and credit companies in a surprise assault on the United States` $6
billion Internet gambling industry. That, in turn, prompted Britain`s 888
Holdings and PartyGaming, the world`s largest Internet gambling concern, to
cancel all U.S. business. Shares in global Internet gambling companies
tumbled, the Telegraph of London reported Monday. Officers of such companies
were livid. ‘This is the worst form of protectionism I have ever seen,’ one
such officer told the Telegraph. ‘This will drive Internet gambling
underground and consumer protection will go out of the window. The religious
groups that lobbied for this may live to regret it.’ But the Senate`s
leader sounded the opposite of regretful. ‘Gambling is a serious addiction
that undermines the family, dashes dreams and frays the fabric of society,’
said Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn. ‘The bottom line is simple: Internet gambling
is illegal. Although we can`t monitor every online gambler or regulate
offshore gambling, we can police the financial institutions that disregard
our laws.’