While its almost impossible to say just how much money American internet users will lose today, this may be the last time they do it legally.

That's silly, of course. Just because some senators want to prohibit online gambling completely doesn't mean we'll suddenly find ourselves unable to throw away our money via the web. Arizone Senator Jon Kyl has sponsored a bill calling for an outright ban. Kyl thinks unregulated gambling leads to broken families and higher crime rates... pretty much the same result as legalized gambling if you stop and think about it. (:30)

According to an article in Yahoo Internet Life magazine, online gambling is going to be a multi- billion dollar industry by the end of the decade... not the kind of tax dollars most lawmakers like to ignore, especially in states where gambling is legal. Almost all of the online gambling sites are operating offshore -- mainly because the casino operators fear prosecution. Right now the law says its OK to gamble over the phone as long as the bettor and the casino are in states that allow gambling, but Kyl wants to stop computer users from doing the very same thing. Even Nevada would be prevented from operating online gambling houses.

If Kyl gets his way, online casinos will never be established in the United States -- a meaningless distinction to the internet -- and so Federal authorities will have to prosecute the only folks available: the people who gamble. Place a 5 dollar bet on the SuperBowl and you'll face jail time.

The only problem I really have with online gambling is that unless it is regulated, there is no real way of telling the legitamate operations from the scams. I can rig up my macintosh to serve a fake casino web site in a matter of hours... who's making sure I'm not corrupt? Many of the hundred or so gambling sites *are* regulated and others have been audited by big accounting firms, like Coopers and Lybrand. In fact, if you are going to gamble, look for these seals of approval on the sites you visit.

Because I don't think gambling is even close to a constitutional right... or maybe because I think gambling is such a waste of money... its hard for me to get all upset about efforts to regulate it online. But banning it certainly isn't the answer and probably tramples all over states rights, but regulate it? Sounds like a good idea to protect folks from crooked gaming sites. And believe it or not, the game operators *want* to be regulated -- and therefore legitimized -- so they can operate out of the U.S., instead of from other countries.

Given the Congress' lack of self- control when it comes to passing internet regulations, I'm sure we'll see the boneheaded ban sail through... and our dollars head to off- shore gambling houses instead. (2:35)

Links:

Charles Pappas' column from Yahoo! Internet Life

Rolling Good Times (gambling magazine and listing of gaming sites)