Moment of Strange

Phoebe Prince Suicide Shows Needs For Online Gambling Regulations. Online gambling is a billion dollar industry in the US, yet the government has turned their back on those who take part in this entertainment activity. Instead of addressing the problem, the US government has chosen to create the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006.

The law addresses Internet gambling only with the premise that financial institutions are now responsible to deny online gambling transactions. The law, itself, does not even clarify what are illegal games of chance that are supposedly illegal in the country.

One of the issues that children have faced for decades is to show their responsibility in taking part in adult activities. One of those activities in online gambling, and currently, the US government is leaving it up to gaming sites that are located offshore to police themselves. That means that many children are circumventing the age limits required to gamble online.

Representative Barney Frank has introduced legislation that would overturn the UIGEA and regulate online gambling in the country. One of the areas Rep. Frank is looking to clean up is the amount of youth participation at the Internet gaming sites. Technology now exists to ensure that underage gamblers are kept out, but without regulation, current gaming sites do not need to adhere to any standards regarding the technology.

The Internet is exactly as advertised, a super highway of information. Nobody wants to see more government intrusion, but lawmakers on both sides of the aisle admit that there needs to be some oversight online.

It is tragedies like that of Prince that sometimes lead to changes in procedure at a federal level, and online gambling regulations would be a start towards keeping future generations of children safe from the new-found dangers of the Internet.