![handle is hein.journals/gmglwr6 and id is 1 raw text is: GAMING LAW REVIEW
Volume 6, Number 1, 2002
©Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
Viewpoints
On Sponsoring the Bill to Enact the Combating Illegal
Gambling Reform and Modernization Act
CONGRESSMAN BOB GOODLATTE
T HE INTERNET IS A REVOLUTIONARY TOOL that
dramatically affects the way we communi-
cate, conduct business, and access information.
Realizing few boundaries, the Internet is ac-
cessed by folks in rural and urban areas alike,
in large countries as well as small. The Internet
is currently expanding by leaps and bounds;
however, it has not yet come close to reaching
its true potential as a medium for commerce
and communication.
One of the main reasons that the Internet has
not reached this potential is that many folks
view it as a wild frontier, with no safeguards
to protect children and very few legal protec-
tions to prevent online criminal activity. The
ability of the World Wide Web to penetrate
every home and community across the globe
has both positive and negative implications.
While it can be an invaluable source of infor-
mation and means of communication, it can
also override community values and stan-
dards, subjecting them to whatever may or may
not be found online. In short, the Internet is a
challenge to the sovereignty of civilized com-
munities, states, and nations to decide what is
appropriate and decent behavior.
Illegal gambling is an excellent example of
this situation. Illegal gambling on the Internet
has exploded into a lucrative business that
sucks billions of dollars out of the U.S. econ-
omy each year, costs tens of thousands of jobs,
serves as a vehicle for money laundering, and
Congressman Bob Goodlatte [R] represents the State of
Virginia's Sixth District.
threatens the ability of states to enact and en-
force their own laws.
Gambling is currently illegal in the United
States unless regulated by the states. As such,
every state has gambling statutes to determine
the type and amount of legal gambling per-
mitted. With the development of the Internet,
however, prohibitions and regulations govern-
ing gambling have been turned on their head.
No longer do people have to leave the comfort
of their homes and make the affirmative deci-
sion to travel to a casino, they can access the
casino from their living rooms.
Since 1868, the federal government has en-
acted federal gambling statutes when a partic-
ular type of gambling activity has escaped the
ability of states to regulate it. For over one hun-
dred years, Congress has acted to assist states
in enforcing their respective policies on gam-
bling when developments in technology of an
interstate nature, such as the Internet, have
compromised the effectiveness of state gam-
bling laws.
The Wire Act already prohibits gambling over
telephone wires. However, because the Internet
does not always travel over telephone wires, the
Wire Act has become outdated. The Wire Act
was sent to Congress by Attorney General Robert
Kennedy and passed in 1961, long before the in-
vention of the World Wide Web.
PROBLEMS
Gambling on the Internet is especially entic-
ing to minors, pathological gamblers, and crim-
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