A Republican-sponsored effort to clamp down on Internet gambling may turn
out to be a bad bet for the Republican Party just days away from
congressional elections. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act,
which President George W. Bush signed into law Oct. 13, has infuriated many
voters who enjoy betting on sports or playing poker online, analysts said.
Other observers, however, see little threat to Republicans from the law,
calling it a relatively minor matter to most voters in Tuesday’s elections.
"I don’t believe a large volume of voters are motivated to go to the polls
because of Internet gaming, either way," said Brian Darling of the Heritage
Foundation, a conservative Washington think tank. But with Republicans
already on the defensive over the Iraq war, budget deficits and a sex
scandal involving teenage congressional assistants, the gambling law is the
latest issue that could steer voters away from the Republican Party. "I’ve
been a loyal Republican for over 30 years, and I’m quitting the party I once
loved," said Jim Henry, 55, who lives outside San Francisco. "Not because of
the Mark Foley scandal or Middle East policy. But because the Republican
Party wants to stop me from what I love to do: play poker over the
Internet." The Republicans are trying to hold onto their majority in both
the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Democrats could take a
majority in the House by gaining 15 seats, and in the Senate with six more
seats. All 435 House seats are on Tuesday’s ballot, and 33 of the 100 Senate
seats are. Sponsored in the House by Republican Congressmen Jim Leach and
Bob Goodlatte, and backed in the Senate by Majority Leader Bill Frist, a
Republican, the law pits social conservatives who disapprove of gambling
against the 8.5 million Americans who spend about $6 billion (?4.7 billion)
annually to cast wagers online.
Some opponents of the law see a political component to its passage,
believing it was intended to buoy support for Frist among religious
conservatives if he decides to run for president in 2008.

The law is aimed at stopping the flow of money to gambling sites, where
funds could potentially be laundered.

Leach has also cited moral dimensions to the law, calling it one of the most
important pieces of family legislation ever considered by lawmakers.

"Internet gambling is not a subject touched upon in the Old or New Testament
or the Quran," Leach said earlier this year. "But the pastoral function is
one of dealing with families in difficulty and religious leaders of all
denominations and faiths are seeing gambling problems erode family values."

Even so, a Gallup Poll taken earlier this year found that 60 percent of
adults believe gambling is morally acceptable.

"I suspect that people who actually do a lot of Internet gambling …
they’re going to be turned off by this," said David Boaz of the libertarian
Cato Institute in Washington. "That’s going to hurt Republicans."

Boaz said the law would likely alienate self-described libertarian voters,
which he estimates constitute about 13 percent of the electorate. Boaz
published an analysis last month suggesting libertarians have been slowly
shifting their support to Democrats since 2004.

Others say it’s too much of a niche issue to swing the election.

"National security, the economy and such issues are likely to be the most
pressing issues in voters’ minds next Tuesday," said Carrie Meadows, a
spokeswoman for Goodlatte.

The Poker Players Alliance, an advocacy group in Washington with more than
120,000 members, said it has been flooded with angry e-mails from
libertarian organizations and Republicans disavowing the law. And the group
is letting its members know how their representatives voted.