Bacchus Mistakenly Supports Online Gambling 

May 27, 2009 - Written by Renee

Representative Spencer Bacchus, a Republican from Alabama, is one of the staunchest opponents of online gambling. He is seen by many as the main hurdle to Representative Barney Frank is the latter’s quest to legalize online gambling. However, a statement that Bacchus recently made has been used against him. Bacchus said, “Illegal offshore Internet gambling sites are a criminal enterprise, and allowing them to operate unfettered in the United States would present a clear danger to our youth, who are subject to becoming addicted to gambling at an early age.” 

Janice Heron pointed out how Bacchus’ statement actually favored the legalization of online gambling in the United States. She said, “In order for the US to protect their children and adults alike from the dangers of these illegal international gaming companies they must put regulations in place that would make what these foreign companies are currently doing, which is take advantage of weak US laws.” 

The question is can Barney Frank leverage this statement by Bacchus in order to turn the Internet gambling debate on its head. Worldwide the Internet gambling industry is worth over a billion dollars. A large portion of that comes from US customers and is currently going to offshore companies. There is a compelling economic argument to bring that money into the United States. The real fight is over the social aspect. The opponents of legalization of online gambling state that it is a socially harmful activity and therefore should be banned. The proponents say that it is being carried out in any event and therefore the need to legalize it.