The Dubious Immorality of Online Gambling
The recent back-door legislation which outlawed online gambling in the USA has been championed as a moral cause. This is in direct opposition to a Gallup Poll taken earlier this year which found that 60 percent of adults believe gambling is morally acceptable. Chief sponsor Jim Leach (R-Iowa) has called it one of the most important pieces of family legislation ever considered by lawmakers. Although by his own admission, gambling is not prohibited by either the Bible or the Quran, he sees a pastoral function in the new law, in that it will protect the rapidly-eroding values of family life. Others see more of a self-promoting political function in the legislation, believing it was intended to gain support from the religious right for Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist if he decides to run for president in 2008. Gambling in itself is not inherently immoral. Many people enjoy a flutter, spending a small proportion of their leisure money on their chosen sport, whether it be poker, football or horse racing. At this level, it is little more than an innocent pastime. It can, of course, become an addiction which then has serious consequences. When money earmarked for family welfare is wasted on gambling then it does becomes immoral. But it is no more so than any other activity which diverts money from its intended course. And if gambling is so immoral, why is Las Vegas still allowed to flourish? One argument would be that it’s too easy to bet online. The convenience of online gambling is undoubted – that’s part of its attraction. But that convenience lends itself to unparalleled transparency. As all transactions are conducted through credit cards, it’s relatively easy to see who’s betting what and where. It is thus much easier for the industry to monitor activity and set session limits - on how long people play, and how much they lose. Any number of arguments could be proposed and countered. But the truth is that this is not about morality. If it was, the hardcore pornography that floods the internet from the USA would have been targeted years ago. Not to mention the illegal piracy market which costs legitimate business millions each year. This is really a battle between the established land-based US casino industry and the offshore online market. Given that most online casinos are listed on the UK stock exchange, it’s no wonder the UK is government now pushing for standardised legislation which will essentially give them control over the future of the industry. The British view is that gambling is a legitimate business and while there are potential problems associated with online gaming, it is better all round for it to be regulated by government. The US stance on online gambling is a smokescreen. The real reason the legislation was passed was to give control of US gambling back to the established land-based casinos. But the UK and EU will not change their attitudes towards gambling, so the online gambling industry will continue to grow. Given time, US gamblers will find a way round this dubious legislation, even if it means opening accounts with offshore banks. Which leads to a very interesting two horse race. The established US casinos, with the implicit consent of their moralising government, will soon launch their own online sites in a bid to take back control of their industry. In the meantime, the UK and EU based casinos will do all they can to entice those US players into defecting. Who comes out on top is a matter for debate. What isn’t is the fact that this ill-conceived and hypocritical piece of legislation will one day be overturned and consigned to the rubbish bin of history where it undoubtedly belongs. Andy Follin is a dedicated leisure gambler and author of a gambler's advice site. He is also an ardent opponent of hypocrisy, especially that which hides behind the banners of religion and morality. |
Other Betting System Articles
Top Poker The top poker games depend on the player. Some people love video poker—man against machine. Sure, your chances for winning aren’t as great as playing against a human player, but when it comes to gambling, to each his own. Blackjack is not your best game statistically either, but that doesn’t stop people from playing the game. When it comes d ...Poker Strategy: 6 Steps From Novice To Playing Like A Pro There is no one set poker strategy for all players.Poker strategy is determined by a number of things including:Your bankroll, your motivation and most importantly your personality.Lets look at six areas that you need to follow to take you from novice player to winning the big pots consistently.The one thing to keep i ...How to Play Omaha Poker - A Beginner's Guide Texas Hold’em and Omaha Poker resemble each other in that it is a game played with five community cards but there are differences between the two games, the major difference is that the hands in Omaha are usually much better, since you get to choose from 9 cards in total.Omaha poker is fun, easy to play and here we will cover the basics ...Understanding Online Casino Bonuses Are you puzzled by the workings of online Casino bonuses, with those pulsating dollar signs and offers of free cash? Let's see if we can demystify the situation.Different rules apply to different casino bonuses - know these rules and avoid disappointment. In addition you may think you're receiving the best treatment because a casino give ...Warm-up for Soccer Training and Games To improve your soccer coaching skills, you’ve got to make sure your players give their bodies the chance to perform at their best. That means sensible warm-ups and cool-down, before and after a match or a soccer training session of any kind.Soccer is a demanding physical game. So providing encouragement and instruction and making sure your ...Playing Online Slots - A Beginner's Guide To Hitting The Jackpot; Part 2 While playing online slot playing is a game of chance as we have seen in part 1 of this essay there are certain ways to maximize your winnings.Here is a 10 point guide to playing online slots and increasing your chances of winning the jackpot.1. Emotions!Slots are simple, fun and easy to play and it’s easy to get carried awa ...Horse Racing Basics Horse racing is perhaps one of the most common and attractive wagering game. Every country that permits horse racing earns huge revenue through it. However, not every one is aware that a horse race has more to it than four legged animals and bets. For example, how many if us know about the evolution of horse racing, or where the first race was r ...The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living It’s arrival day. I just flew into Las Vegas from the East Coast. You’ll soon find out that the traveling is exhausting and seemingly never-ending. You often forget what day it is, let alone the month, and on more than one occasion, I’ve forgotten what city I’m in. The first thing you need to do is buy in to the tournament. A typical major ...Internet Gambling Bill In the House of Representatives, there is a bill (H.R. 4777) that was introduced by Representative Bob Goodlatte, of Virginia. The bill, entitled “Internet Gambling Prohibition Act”, was introduced to the House of Representatives on February 16, 2006 and was sent to the Committee on the Judiciary on the same day. The bill is one that, if pas ...Online Poker Room Tips If you have already given online poker a try, you know how much fun you can have. However now that you’ve played a few games, you may be looking for a few online poker room tips to improve your play and help you win more money. A great place to start looking for online poker room tips is right at the site you play on. You can find lots of valuab ...Internet Poker Card Game If you love poker and are trying to find a way to feed your addiction, day or night, you should consider an internet poker card game. This is a great way to play poker any time that is convenient for you, plus you can find all types of poker tables. There are places you can play for money or even play for free. Just look around and find the ulti ...The History of Keno Keno was introduced in 200 BC by the Chinese military leader, Cheung Leung who used this game as a finance resource for his failing army. The city of Cheung was waging a war, and after awhile of war time appeared to be facing national famine with the drastic decrease in supplies. Cheung Leung needed to come up with a fast fix for the economic di ...How to Play Blackjack Like a Pro and Win Big! The good news is that playing blackjack like a pro is something any player can master.You can learn everything about playing blackjack successfully.Fact is that blackjack is a casino game where with proper play you can put the odds in your favour over the long term and emerge a winner.To play blackjack like a pro does howeve ...Oriental Gambling The tree of gambling is growing and its roots expanding day by day. While few decades before the tree was deemed as a weed and left unattended, in recent years it has received immense attention and nourishment from different countries of the world. This is mainly because of two interrelated reasons- the alarming rate at which the gambling tree i ...Keys For Your Selection of Betting Sites Ever since online betting sites have become hot favorites of the millions of luck seekers of the internet world, the selection of reliable and trustworthy sites is becoming a major issue in the field of on line betting. On the spot conventional betting provides the bettors a fairly good knowledge of the betting facilitators and the advantage of ...Advantages of the Ability to Play Poker Online Whereas once in order to gamble or play poker one would need to go to a casino or round up a bunch of friends, there is now a lot more convenience when it comes to playing poker. Now, thanks to the advantages of technology and computer abilities, people are now able to play poker online.The same advantages of regular poker games apply, s ...The Basics of Backgammon Strategies The objective of a Backgammon game is to move your pieces around the game board and bear them off the board faster than your opponent who works harder to do the same but in the opposite direction. Winning a game in Backgammon requires both strategy and luck. How far you can move your pieces is up to the numbers from rolling the dices, and how yo ...An Introduction to Slot Machines Slot machines are one of the most popular games to play at casinos. On any given night, expect most of the machines to be filled with eager players. They come in a variety of playing levels; some only cost five cents a play and others can cost as much as twenty dollars a play. Although slot machines are a gambling tool, many people are intimidat ...Selecting an Online Casino When you are trying to decide which online casino to go with your decision is based partly on personal preferences and on a large amount of research into the numerous online casinos. The following article will show you some of the things to look for when selecting an online casino.One of the biggest things to look for on a website is the ...Playing Browser Based Poker (no download needed) Poker is a popular card game that has recently gained some public attention. Because of the various poker tournaments being shown on TV, poker has gained a resurgence of popularity that has gained the attention of many. And because poker has attracted a lot of new participants as its popularity continues to grow, more and more people are looking ...How To Play Let It Ride Poker I know about Let It Ride Poker from a relative of mine. Actually my cousin seems to be addicted to it and this is why I'm quite worried about him. Despite the fact that he has made quite some money on his Let It Ride, I still have a bad feeling about it. Every gambler should know that luck is only a matter of time. You cannot be lucky all the ti ...Online Sports Betting Betting on the results of sporting events has always been a popular hobby. Now with the Internetand online betting facilities, placing a bet has become easier than ever before.A wager can be placed in the usual manner like with a bookmaker or through the bet exchange, a new innovation on the Internet. Through this, individuals can place b ...A Beginner's Guide To Texas Holdem Strategies If you are going to learn to play poker, then you must learn to play Texas Hold’em. Before you jump right into a game, take a moment and study the following tips:1. First, before you step into the world of an online Texas Hold’em poker room, decide what you feel comfortable wagering. Never put more money into your online account than you ...Let It Ride Poker - Tips To Hit a Huge Jackpot Quickly! Let it Ride Poker is easy to learn and it’s fun to play. What attracts players to Let it Ride Poker is the thrill and excitement of letting bets ride and winning a huge pot quickly!If you are new to let it ride poker here are the basic rules and some tips to win.Let it Ride Poker – Objective of the gameThe object of the game ...High Stakes Poker If you enjoy playing poker and are interested in getting more action you may want to try playing high stakes poker on the Internet. There are high stakes poker games available where you can play with and learn from the pros. If you just want to play at a single table in a non-tournament format then that is available. However, if you want to go f ...Football Odds in Gambling Football odds are very tricky and need to be examined carefully before any kind of bet is places on any game. Gambling needs a very sensitive approach. It needs such a specific approach because if football odds are considered carefully enough, football gambling can be very productive and profitable to the gambler.So if ...Play Baccarat - For Big Profits & Fun! The game of Baccarat was originally known as Faro (or Basset), it was the favorite game of Casanova, and other adventures since the 15th century onwards.Today’s game was a favorite of James Bond, where in the film Casino Royale he skillfully bankrupts an enemy. Baccarat in old colloquial Italian and French means “nothing”.This arti ...Baseball Betting Lines On its face sports’ gambling can look easy, but in fact betting on sports like baseball requires some serious thought. You can probably look in your local newspaper to get baseball betting lines, but what do you really know about the odds makers that came up with them. How do you make an informed decision about baseball betting lines if you don’ ...Accessing a Poker Cardroom Online One of the most popular types of websites on the internet today is poker and casino websites. This is a sport and game which is challenging as well as intellectually stimulating. Many people appreciate this combination of attributes in their entertainment. Accessing these gambling sites is not complicated at all, and people also appreciate th ...Spider Solitaire: A Strategy Guide For Beginners Spider solitaire is a well-known solitaire game, which has gained a lot in popularity since Microsoft have started shipping it free with windows. It is very hard though, and many people want to know how they can increase their chances of winning.The aim of spider solitaire is to build an ascending suit sequence in the foundation zone. Bu ...Keno Game Basics Out of the many popular casino games that you can lay your hand on and pray, pray hard that the luck be on your side (like horse race, poker for instance), keno is one such game that will intrigue you into its trouble-free approach. Keno is basically the game from which another widely popular game lottery has evolved. The number of casino games ...Football Betting Odds There is one major misconception about football betting odds—that they closely predict the outcome of the game. Football betting odds are actually designed to bring in the largest number of bets. So one person will see the spread on a game and what to go with the favorite and another will bet the spread of the loss. While football bett ...
|