July 29 - It goes without saying that the topic of online gambling has
manages to stir the strongest sentiments in American politicians on both ends of
the spectrum. While the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was passed by
the Senate, most industry analysts know that the majority of US citizens would
much prefer a more regulated system, and one that does not ban online gambling
outright.
As online gambling proponents try to push through laws to end the UIGEA,
there are other politicians on the opposite end of the scale who will do
anything to keep the law where it is. While it is perfectly legitimate - and
even called for in a democratic system - to speak against something one is
opposed to, a line needs to be drawn where false facts and 'scare tactics' are
used in order to convince the public not to vote for the other side.
Alabama Representative, Spencer Bachus seems to have crossed that
line, as comments that he made to the US House Committee on Financial Services
came to light this week. Last week, it was noted that Bachus falsely cited
research done by a Canadian university into gambling, by saying that one third
of students who contemplate suicide also gamble online.
This time, Spencer Bachus may have made some uneasy comparisons between
online gambling and child pornography. "The fastest growing addiction in America
is not drugs, it's gambling," he is reported to have told the Committee in a bid
to defeat Barney Frank's Payments System Protection Act. "We are going to try to
stop child pornography and illegal gambling over the internet. We don't want you
to be partnering, as the FBI says, with child pornography sites and gambling
sites."
"The internet puts that gambling facility right in the home, right in the
dorm room, right in the bedroom of the teenager or college student," said
Bachus.
For further coverage on Barney Frank's heroic battle with the UIGEA read on!
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