Online Gambling Grumbles

The United States refuses to live up to its World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations and to make sure it gets away with it, it has bribed Costa Rica into barring online gambling companies based in Costa Rica from allowing U.S. players. Although it is nothing but a bribe, the U.S. government calls it “compensation.” This “compensation consists of greater access to other service markets, including research and development, storage, technical testing and analysis. Costa Rica is not the first to accept a bribe from the U.S. The Bush administration has also bribed Japan, Canada and the European Union not to allow U.S. players from gambling online. Costa Rica's settlement took place after the country had filed for arbitration before the WTO when it appeared the U.S. and Costa Rica would not be able to find agreeable terms. "The agreement has been satisfactory for the country," whimpered Costa Rican Foreign Trade Minister Marco Ruiz. Substitute “bribe” for “agreement” and you get the true picture. The U.S. has been under fire in the WTO for its online gambling laws since Antigua and Barbuda asked the organization to investigate a few years ago. The WTO ruled that the U.S. was in violation of trade regulations it had agreed to when it became a member of the WTO. While the United States has argued that it does not allow online gambling because of the social ills that come with gambling, it does still allow states to provide lottery services online and horse race betting online is permitted. In fact, the hypocrisy is staggering. More homes are wrecked and more poor people, who can’t afford it, are devastated by state lotteries, which are nothing but bogus scams. Your chances of winning the lottery are 1 in 14 million. There is no casino game of chance that reaches those odds of a sucker bet, but U.S. politicians support their state lotteries because it allows them to pay for BS pet projects. Even the worst casinos (brick & mortar and online) never screw you to the tune of 1 in 14 million.

IGREA May Become a Reality

Add one more voice to the IGREA - the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act. This bill was introduced in 2007 by Congressman and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA). Rep. Tim Bishop, a Democrat representing the 1st District of New York State added his signature in support of a regulated online gambling industry. Known as HR 2046, the bill currently boasts 47 co-sponsors.

South Africa Wises Up

Internet gambling is currently illegal in South Africa, but that’s about to change. A bill which would legalize, license, and regulate online wagering is presently being reviewed by the Select Committee of National Provinces. The bill is expected to be brought before the National Assembly for final approval before long. Under the National Gaming Act of 2004, online gambling is illegal, and subject to severe penalties. Flaunting the law can bring up to ten years in the slammer and fines in excess of a million dollars. Chief operating officer of the National Gambling Board, Themba Marasha, met with the agencies in charge of upholding the restrictions on advertising, marketing, or participating in online gaming, and pushed the case to protect the consumer. Marasha would rather regulate the industry than penalize the gamblers. Marasha claims the new law will protect South Africans against unscrupulous online operators, and put in place proper control mechanisms.