IP: COMMISSION TO RECOMMEND TO PRESIDENT, CONGRESS A BAN ON INTERNET GAMBLING from Edupage

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

[ Lets see , they could invade any country that harbors an Internet site that is illegal (like the UK and pirate radio 
ships); or they could monitor all IP traffic looking for those magic sequences of bits; or they could.... Someone 
should educate our Commission.  djf]


On June 18, the National Gambling Impact Study Commission will 
release the final report of its two-year study on gambling and 
will likely advise President Clinton and Congress to outlaw 
Internet gambling in the U.S. "Online wagering promises to 
revolutionize the way Americans gamble because it opens up the 
possibility of immediate, individual, 24-hour access to the full 
range of gambling in every home," the report concludes. The 
anonymity afforded by the Internet is inherently dangerous 
because it could give minors access to gaming sites, foster 
addiction among chronic gamblers, and permit crime to flourish. 
The commission urges that people under the age of 21 be barred 
from participating in legal gambling and that gambling operations 
exclude advertising that is targeted at groups such as youths and 
the poor. In addition, the commission recommends that states and 
Indian tribal leaders push for gambling taxes that allocate 
funding to support research on the ill effects of gambling and 
prevention, education, and treatment programs. 
(Wall Street Journal 06/04/99)