Networks Flood Airways With Online Gambling Debate

Topic Gets Hot as Internet Prohibition Bill Approaches Congress

During the month of September, cable and television networks paraded programs on the subject of online and offshore gaming. These programs aired just in time to stir up more debate as lawmakers on Capitol Hill were poised to vote on whether or not to attach an online gambling ban to the current defense bill. One network program on the subject of online gambling might have given lawmakers the dose of reality they needed to make an educated decision.

News was swirling around the arrests of several Internet gaming executives. ESPN hosted an online gambling debate on Sept. 10 during an episode of Outside The Lines. Nightline ran a feature on the eccentric billionaire Calvin Ayre and took viewers on a tour of the Costa Rica-based Bodog Nation. The public response must have been startling, as in-depth feature segments about the gaming industry followed. And while the pieces were interesting and helped expose the taboo subject of online gaming to a mass audience, it was still just the drumming of an old message into new ears.

Network Programming on Tilt
As networks continue to tackle topics on the legality of online gambling, taxes on such, and the affect it has on society, no real solutions are being presented. During two separate features, reporters tilted their perspectives toward an all-out ban during closing statements. But as hard-core journalists put a negative spin on the gambling phenomenon, the results backfired, as those they scrutinized over prime-time television were given a voice. In most cases, the interviewees came across as more intelligent and better informed, and offered real solutions to problems, compared to those delivering the hard-hitting questions.

A 60 Minutes segment that aired on Sunday, Sept. 17, might have become just another soft interview, as CBS reporter Lesley Stahl argued “gambling is bad” and “the point of making something illegal is to stop people from doing it, and penalize them if they do,” but admitted that even America’s gaming industries, which have long opposed Internet gambling, are shifting their position.

“I think the issue is very simple,” said MGM/Mirage CEO Terry Landry. “You should license it, regulate it, and tax it. I think to enact laws that you can’t enforce makes no sense whatsoever.”

Are Lawmakers Dealing With a Full Deck?
Sen. Jon Kyl believes the affect that gambling has on kids is the biggest danger.

“Our kids have access to the Internet. They’re frequently not supervised. And you can run up a huge debt on your folks’ credit card very, very quickly.”

But Kyl’s point was easily disproved in front of a mass audience.

Nigel Payne, former CEO of Sportingbet.com, who also ran Paradise Poker, ran an experiment during a 60 Minutes segment that aired on CBS. The producer gave his son a credit card and Payne challenged the teenager to open an account with Paradise Poker. Payne was certain, with effective security measures in place, the underage visitor wouldn’t be able to gain access to the site.

“That 16-year-old has got to give me four or five pieces of information about him, relative to his bank account, his personal details, where he lives, and other things,” said Payne. “I can be 99 percent comfortable that this 16-year-old doesn’t even get through my front door.”

Payne made his point, as the boy’s attempts to register with Paradise Poker were futile. Warnings that read “You must be 18 or older” popped up each time.

From Across the Pond
“This is why regulating the industry is so important,” said Payne. “If you regulate it, you set limits.”

The Englishman addressed several other issues concerning online gambling and countered questions with eloquence and poise. He even posed a few questions of his own, though not necessarily intended for the journalist conducting the interview, but a worldwide audience to ponder. So, without a harem of bikini-clad women or a convoy of shiny new Hummers, the unassuming Mr. Payne presented a poignant thought.

“Do you think the Internet is suddenly going to go away? Do you think that people are ever going to stop gambling? So what are we going to do in 10 years time when this industry is 10 times bigger than it is today?”

Then Payne posed another question to a prime-time national television audience. “Please give me one solid plausible argument why you shouldn’t regulate it.”

It was just about that time when the chairman of the senate armed services committee was considering whether or not to attach an Internet wagering prohibition to a piece of “must-pass” legislation.

Two days later, when Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist approached Senator John Warner, Warner consulted with the ranking Democrat of Michigan, Senator Carl Levin. And though the House of Representatives passed the anti-online gambling legislation in July, it still needed to make it through the Senate.

Frist made explosive accusations that online gambling promotes money laundering, racketeering, tax evasion, and a host of other felonies. And in a desperate attempt to quickly establish an all-out ban, he and other senators attached additional legislation to the current defense bill.

Frist failed in his attempt but has vowed he will continue to push for another vote on the issue. And though Payne and the heads of several other sites have proven that licensing and regulating online gambling will win the trust of consumers and eventually put the less reputable sites out of business, naïve lawmakers would rather it all just went away.

“I promise you within 12 months … the problems … will have disappeared or significantly reduced, because customers will have voted with their feet.”

All we in the industry can hope is that the words of a wise Englishman might have finally resonated on Capitol Hill.

courtesy of Cardplayer.com

News Added: 22 September, 2006

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