Gaming regulations?

Question

do you think we need such strict regulations over gaming? If not, how lax should they be? Or should we have them at all?

Answer 1

There are different restrictions. The obvious one that affects most of us are the restrictions on online gambling in the US. Online gambling isn't actually illegal in the US, although transferring funds into an online gambling account is (covered by the Federal Wire Act).

The US government has always insisted that restrictions in online gambling are there to prevent money laundering. However most of the lobbying done to limit online gambling sites was carried out in the dot-com boom, when the rise in online casinos looked like it could pose a serious threat to established US casino operations. Hence state laws that require a casino to have an attached hotel (some of them even specify a minimum number of rooms) before the state will grant a gambling license.

Should we have them at all? No. Money laundering is a serious problem, but looking at all the credit card fraud going on it's clear the Department of Justice and the Secret Service are struggling to keep on top of things.

It's clear the current and ongoing restrictions are there to benefit established casinos and their interested parties, rather than to protect gambling addicts, children, and to prevent money laundering.

Frankly it's a ridiculous situation and there are - and always be - ways around the various laws and restrictions.