Two year jail term and hefty fine for gambling online – What is the world coming to?
Published on 14 November 2007
If you are caught gambling online in the East coast state of Massachusetts you could face a spell behind bars for as much as two years.
One of America’s most well respected daily newspapers the Boston Globe reports that the Democrat Governor of the state Deval Patrick is trying to sneak in a provision to criminalise online gambling and serve up harsh penalties for those found gambling online.
The bill, if passed, would make online gambling punishable by up to 2 years in prison and the equivalent of £12,000 in fines.
While Massachusetts has always been considered a conservative state this proposed bill would cross new boundaries in terms of state power on the person. It’s all the more surprising that the idea has been floated by a Democrat since many in the party favour scrapping the ban on online gambling across the USA all together.
Ironically, the provision to criminalise online gambling is buried deep within a bill to allow the construction of three new casinos in the state.
'If you were cynical about it, you'd think that they're trying to set up a monopoly for the casinos,' said David G. Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
A 46 year old federal law prohibits betting using telephone lines, which the US Department of Justice has interpreted as prohibiting all online gambling.
The current government’s policy has been to prosecute the operators of Internet gambling sites but not the gamblers. If Governor Patrick has his way then no one will escape the clutches of this ultra conservative law in his home state.
Democratic House representative Barney Frank, who earlier this year introduced legislation to legalise regulated online gambling reacted angrily to the leak and
criticised the move as 'giving opponents an argument against him.'
Indeed, groups such as the Poker Players Alliance, who were previously supportive of Patrick's plans to open the new casinos, have already announced opposition to the bill because of the online gambling clause.
|
