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Guest Commentary: August 17, 2001
Not A Safe Bet
The Honorable Jon Kyl
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Have you ever watched your child or grandchild become transfixed on some game on the Internet? For reasons we often don't quite get, they play it repeatedly, sometimes losing track of time and the people around them, all in a drive to win.
Now suppose that instead of a harmless game, your children are playing on an Internet casino site. Then imagine that they got hold of your credit cards.
That's pretty much what's happened with many young people, as they are lured onto casino web sites, begin gambling, and then build up thousands of dollars of debt on their own credit cards, and those belonging to their parents.
In fact, as a representative of the National Collegiate Athletic Association recently testified before Congress, Internet gambling has become a growing problem on college campuses. Many young people are incurring enormous debts gambling on computers in their own dorm rooms -- all in the hope of making a fast buck.
Internet gambling is not only a danger for young people. More than 15 million Americans today suffer from a serious gambling addiction, according to estimates, and the quick, easy access to Internet casinos from nearly any computer is often an irresistible draw -- what one expert from Harvard Medical School equated to a new delivery system for crack cocaine.
This serious addiction affects more than just the gambler. According to the director of the National Coalition Against Gambling Expansion, as many as 90 percent of "pathological gamblers" commit crimes to pay off their debts. A National Academy of Sciences report similarly found that addicts "engage in destructive behaviors: they commit crimes, they run up large debts, they damage relationships with family and friends, and they kill themselves."
Of course, not everyone who gambles has a serious problem. Some people just enjoy placing bets, and are aware of the daunting odds they face. But at least when they go to an actual casino, they have confidence that should they win a hand of blackjack, for example, they are going to get paid. There are no such guarantees over the Internet. Because Internet can be altered or removed with ease, dishonest operators can steal credit card numbers and simply shut down without ever paying out.
Additionally, games over the computer can be manipulated far easier than at regulated casinos, and computer sites can be programmed to make it impossible for any gambler to win. A New York Times report cited one analyst who estimated that "35 percent of Internet casinos might not pay what they owe or might fiddle with the odds in an underhanded way." Indeed, the FBI has noted that "organized crime groups are heavily involved" in Internet gambling and Internet gambling often is used to facilitate money laundering.
Because Internet sites can be so quickly moved and shut down and the problem is so widespread, the National Association of Attorneys General asked the federal government to become involved in this issue. To that end, I introduced legislation to ban Internet gambling in the United States and take measures to block access to casino gaming from offshore sites. The bill has previously passed the Senate unanimously. This year, several supporters of an Internet gaming ban in the House of Representatives are working to pass legislation there. I am confident that once that happens, we will again receive overwhelming bipartisan Senate support.
In an increasingly technological world, it is often hard for those of us who are parents and grandparents to keep track of all the temptations our children and others may face. Yet we should take the time to alert them to the dangers of the Internet. That effort alone actually may be a surer bet than any legislation.
Note: Senator Kyl issues a weekly column; the above is adapted from his column of August 17, 2001.
 How to contact Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
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