Religious Leaders Speaking Out for the UIGEA

October 18, 2007

Because of the recent surge of support for laws regulating the online gambling industry, and support for Barney Frank’s new bill, some religious leaders have stepped forward to state their opinions on the whole online gambling mess that we are currently in. Many people seem to see the logic in regulating the online gambling industry, but some still believe it to be the evil that will plague our society if we allow it.

One such person is Florida State Attorney General Bill McCollum. He has stated his support for the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, UIGEA, in a recent article for the Florida Baptist Witness. He gives several reasons for why online gambling should be illegal, but unfortunately none of his reasons are actually facts, as many experts were quick to point out.

Experts say that McCollum stated that “cyber casinos cannot accurately check a person's identification to verify age," which they say is not true. They point out that there are many ways of detecting a person’s age due to the numerous programs out there that handle that in many other industries in addition to the online gambling world.

McCollum also said that “there is no way to ensure that the odds are fair and accurate, and fraud runs rampant through the system. Internet operators often shut down their web sites when too many bettors try to claim their winnings." Experts say that this again is not factual in that the odds at online casinos are usually better than you get at B&M casinos, and there are regulatory systems that monitor these sites. There are checks and balances in every industry. They also pointed out that there have not yet been any reported cases of an internet gambling site “shutting down” because too many people tried to claim winnings.

Finally, they say that although McCollum claims that the UIGEA has “effectively prevented illicit gambling operators from doing business in Florida and has helped reduce the dangers of convenience gambling," this is actually not the case. More illegal and “illicit” online gambling companies are out there today because of the UIGEA and because many of those reputable online casinos have pulled out of the US due to the ban.

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