WASHINGTON (AP) - Internet gambling is addictive, dangerous and should be outlawed, lawmakers argued Tuesday as the House took up a bill to prevent people from using credit cards or other payment forms to settle online wagers. "The ease of Internet gambling poses a very serious threat to our families and our society," Rep. Tom Osborne, R-Neb., said in support of the bill.
The legislation would clarify existing law by declaring Internet gambling illegal. It would cut off payments to betting Web sites and would allow authorities to work with Internet providers to block access to gambling Web sites.
Osborne and other bill supporters contend that it's too easy for online betters to lose money and to become addicted. Critics say policing the Internet is impossible and that it would be better to regulate the $12 billion industry and collect taxes on it.
The American Gaming Association, the industry's largest lobby, has opposed online gambling in the past but recently backed a study of the feasibility of regulating it.
The Internet gambling industry is headquartered almost entirely outside the United States, though about half its customers live in the U.S.
The House is scheduled to vote later in the day on the bill, sponsored by Reps. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and Jim Leach, R-Iowa. Some of the debate focused on whether the bill would truly amount to a ban.
Critics point to exemptions that they say would allow online lotteries and Internet betting on horse racing to flourish while cracking down on other kinds of sports betting, casino games and card games like poker.
"Hypocrisy is certainly rampant here in the house today," Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said.
Under the provision that relates to horse racing, betting operators would not be prohibited from any activity allowed under the Interstate Horseracing Act. That law was written in the 1970s to set up rules for interstate betting on racing. The industry successfully lobbied for legislation several years ago to clarify that horse racing over the Internet is allowed.
Greg Avioli, chief executive officer of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, said the mention of horse racing in the bill is "a recognition of existing federal law," not a new exemption.
Avioli said the racing industry has a strong future in the digital age and acknowledged that the bill would send Internet gamblers to racing sites. "They'd return to the one place they can bet legally," he said.
The Justice Department has taken a different view on the legality of Internet betting on horse races. In a World Trade Organization case involving Antigua, the department said online betting on horse racing remains illegal under the 1961 Wire Act despite the existence of the more recently passed, and updated, Interstate Horseracing Act.
The department hasn't actively enforced its stance, but observers say it is possible that the agency and the racing industry could face off in court in the future.
Like the racing industry, professional sports leagues also like the bill. They argue that Web wagering could hurt the integrity of their sports.
Many conservatives back the bill on moral grounds, arguing that Internet betting is harmful to society.
John Kindt, a business professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who has studied the issue, calls the Internet "the crack cocaine" of gambling.
"There are no needle marks. There's no alcohol on the breath. You just click the mouse and lose your house," he said.
Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., is leading support for the ban in the Senate. The issue has not been debated in that chamber this year, and the measure hasn't been identified by Senate leaders as a top priority.
If the horse provision were stricken from the bill, there's a good chance the measure would run into objections from Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and others from racing states.
___
The bill is H.R.4411
___
On the Net:
House: http://www.house.gov/
