The Morality Of Gambling
Morality is a slippery subject and probably not the best basis for law. Is there such a thing as morality (from God presumably?) or is it all just Mores (the accepted common practices of a group)? The US government passed a law making it illegal for credit card companies to make payments over the internet to businesses that are involved in online gambling. In other words, the same perfectly legal activity in cities like Las Vegas or Atlantic City suddenly becomes evil when done over the devil’s spawn that is the Internet. They already tried that one with the failed Volstead Act that brought about prohibition during the 1920s when it was legal to make and consume alcohol, but illegal to sell or buy it – go figure!
Why should it be less moral for a person to win or loose money in gambling on the internet on sites like PKR Poker than it is on Wall Street? Playing the stock market is just a form of gambling and that too can be done on the internet. So why not ban? In fact, gambling on the internet through sites like Party Poker could be considered less morally dangerous than the stock market. Gambling (or investing) is moneymaking based on chance augmented by skill or knowledge. Loosing on the stock market has devastating effects on the whole world, whereas Internet gambling only affects those who directly participate.
Losses from Internet gambling can be mitigated through rakeback deals and could never approach the sums that were lost on the “sub prime market” which plunged the world into recession. One consequence of a law forbidding gambling on the internet on supposedly moral grounds is that US casinos would no longer be subject to online competition. American gambling loses would therefore stay in America instead of leaving the country. So maybe this principled stance is motivated by nothing more noble than assisting US casinos (and their owners – you know who I mean) in making higher profits while hiding behind a moral smoke screen?
