The American Spectator

Reader Mail

All Bets Are Off

7.20.06 @ 12:01AM

(Page 2 of 5)

Then, there is the shaky position of the federal government, which contends that all on-line wagering is a violation of the so-called Wire Act that went on the books back in the 1950s. The Wire Act, which prohibits gambling activities across state lines, was written for one basic purpose -- to stop organized crime layoff betting. It was never intended to address any other issue.

Off-shore sports books, casinos, and poker sites are armed with a 2002 Federal Appellate Court ruling from New Orleans that the Wire Act has nothing to do with on-line gambling. The rule said non-sports events did not fall under the rule and gaming lawyers have since concluded the ruling also means sporting events.

But there is more.

There is the on-going battle in the World Court over the federal government's attempt to force the legal, licensed sports books of Antigua to stop taking bets from the United States. The World Court has ruled in favor of the government of Antigua on this issue, noting the attempt is a classic example of restraint of trade, but the feds are still swatting windmills.

While I do not wish to even pretend I speak for the millions of people who bet sports, I believe they have had it up to their eyeballs with the federal government's anti-sports betting stance -- something fueled and driven by Bible belt snake-handlers anointed by The Holy Ghost, and by the professional sports leagues.

The hypocrisy of it all would make a buzzard puke.

The U.S. House of Representatives and the United States Senate carry water for this small minority of religious zealots and for the National Football League, the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball.

In the meantime, the American public is permitted to bet on state-run lotteries, which are the biggest swindles in the history of gambling. Think about it -- you have an even money chance to win a football bet but buck odds of up to 127 million-to-1 to win the lottery.

The NFL is the biggest hypocrite in sports. It opposes all sports betting in the United States but is working night and day to make a go of NFL Europe, where sports betting is legal and conducted in every single country where it fields a team. Yes, folks, a bookmaker on every European corner -- and the NFL does not object.

The NBA owes its life to those who bet on it, but in the United States the league says, no to it all. Yet, in Europe, where it hopes to expand, sports betting is legal.

As for Major League Baseball, it too opposes sports betting but is too busy right now trying to confiscate the gallons of steroids being pumped into its playgrounds.

Yes, the nanny state, and much more.
-- Kelso Sturgeon, A Sports Bettor
Henderson, Nevada

Obviously protecting American citizens from on-line gambling is a prime example of our nanny-state gone mad. But what about our drug prohibition policies? Isn't this an example of our nanny-state gone mad?

If American citizens cannot decide for themselves what substances they can put into their own bodies -- even in the privacy of their own homes or churches, then the words freedom and liberty are just
empty words.

Today our government tells us which recreational drugs we may or may not consume. (Note that Viagra is OK, but marijuana is not). Note that tobacco is OK, but marijuana is not.

Letter to the Editor

topics:
Education, Trade, John McCain, Sports, Islam, Books, Law, Supreme Court, Iraq, Israel, NATO, Fascism