The Department of Justice has questioned the validity of a proposal to criminalize internet gambling. Last year Republican Senator John Kyl of Arizona put forward the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act, which would make it illegal to conduct even fantasy sports leagues, office sweeps and casual bets via email. The Internet Consumer Choice Coalition, which is described as a consultant to casino owner Inland Entertainment Corporation, said in a press release that Acting Assistant Attorney General Anthony Sutin had written a letter to Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy. Senator Leahy’s office confirms receiving the letter, but says it came not as some bolt from the blue but in response to a request for comment that Senator Leahy sent to the DoJ. ComputerWire has obtained copies of both letters, and there certainly do appear to be problems with Kyl’s proposal. Sutin replied to Leahy’s seven lines with eight closely written pages. In general, he says, the DoJ supports the idea of amending Federal gambling statutes to prevent abuses on the internet. However Sutin urges circumspection in making new laws until the National Gambling Impact Study Commission (NGISC, http://www.ngisc.gov/) releases its report. The NGISC is examining existing policies and practices; the relationship between gambling and levels of crime; pathological gambling and its impact; gambling as a source of revenue, particularly to Native American tribal government; and the changes expected to be brought about by interactive technologies and the net. However, comprehensive as its mandate is, the NGISC is not due to report until June 30 1999. It’s understandable that Inland Entertainment might want to make the DoJ opposition to the Kyl bill appear spontaneous. The company recently added two internet casinos to its Indian gaming holdings. Big money is expected to be made in online gambling. A recent report from Datamonitor (CI No 3,426) predicts that revenues will increase from $535bn in 1998 to $10bn in 2002. Last year there were 15 gambling sites on the net. Now there are 135. Opponents of tighter controls point out that US prohibition will drive those revenues offshore, to the Carribbean, Europe, Central America and Australia. Indeed with the future of USA’s web casinos under a cloud, this is already happening. One of Inland Entertainment’s own properties is Casino Australia (http://www.casinoaustralia.com/). Still, with so much money at stake, it seems likely that US corporations will be able to affirm their right to take money away from the mathematically challenged.
