Gaming the system

Gaming the system


This newspaper stands against any action that would spread the social, economic and personal damage done by gambling, on the Internet or elsewhere.

But everyone, pro- or anti-gambling, should be troubled by the Kabuki theater now being staged by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid regarding a bill that pretends to give the federal government control over the global phenomenon of online poker. His efforts to get the bill approved in the rush of lame-duck congressional business is bad policy, and his colleagues on both sides of the issue and both sides of the aisle would be wise to stage an intervention to stop him.

Reid, of course, represents Nevada, where a lot of people have a vested interest in who gets to gamble where. He was narrowly re-elected last month with heavy help from both the management and labor ends of the Las Vegas casino industry and Reid, never all that big on carrying water for the gambling game, obviously owes them something in return.

The apparent payback is a bill that claims to put limits on online poker websites. It does, at least on paper. But it also gives a federally protected advantage in the brave new world of online gambling to the existing (Las Vegas) casinos.

In theory, the bill would allow Americans to play online poker only through websites licensed by the U.S. Commerce Department. And the department would only be allowed to grant such licenses to operations that already have brick-and-mortar casinos up and running. That would, in theory, prevent a rush of online-only gambling sites from setting up shop in North Dakota, fleecing the pigeons until someone objected, then shutting down one URL and launching another.

But, like many seemingly reasonable regulatory actions, that would also amount to a protectionist rule for the companies that already dominate the gambling industry — and already give a lot of money to politicians. Reid is among them, of course, but so is Utah’s anti-gambling Sen. Orrin Hatch.

The bill would also throw a bone to Hatch, Rep. Jason Chaffetz and other Utah politicians by pretending to allow anti-gambling states such as Utah to keep online poker sites from doing business with Utah residents.

Of course, it’s all just as much a fraud as the promise of easy riches from gambling. Law or no law, Utahns and everyone else on Earth can play online poker on sites based anywhere from Aruba to the Isle of Man.

Our leaders are going to have to put a lot more thought into what, if anything, they can do about it. And they should do it in ways that are honest with the American people and not simply designed to curry favor with activists on one side or high rollers on the other.