Congressman Paul on Online Gambling
Written by Tom L | Friday, March 27th, 2009
Over the last few weeks several states in America have initiated steps to legalize online gambling. They have done this despite the last Federal Government’s intent to clamp down hard on online gambling. The incumbent Federal Government, beseiged by an economic crisis, has not yet taken any stand on online gambling.
The move by the states comes in the wake of an urgent need to increase revenue streams in the midst of flagging economies. Jenny Woo of Gambling 911 dicussed these matters in depth with Texas Republican Congressman Ron Paul. Dr. Paul was at one time in the race for the Republican nominee for the Presidential election but later defered to John McCain.
Dr. Paul gave Jenny a lesson in history. He said in the beginning the states were like independent countries with only a very loose federal arrangement. With time federal control increased. Now the states are beginning to reassert themselves largely because of the mess made by the Federal Government. The move to legalize online gambling by some states is just one facet of the states demonstrating their desired independence. Dr. Paul is all for this independence and said, “So any time a state will do this whether it’s online gambling or not, it should be encouraged.” At the same time he also had a warning to give. He said. “I’m afraid, of course the mentality of those who love to rule over us in Washington as well as our Courts will continue to give us trouble…”
However he did not agree with the reason that the states have given for legalizing online gambling. He has always had a problem with increasing the supply side of revenue to the government. He does not think that it is a good idea to meet budget deficts by increasing tax collections. He said, “I don’t want to try to bail out Washington or any state government that spends too much money by any additional taxes.”
Jenny asked Dr. Paul whether more of the Republicans would support Barney Frank as and when he moves the bill to overturn the UIGEA and once again have USA online casinos. It was here that Dr. Paul threw in the dampner. He cited the example of legalizing medical marijuana.
Most Republican congressmen personally agreed that it was neccesary but would not support it in public. They felt that it would send a signal to their supporters that they were “soft on drugs”. Likewise the core Republican supporters see gambling as an evil and online gambling as bringing that evil home. Therefore Republican legislators would be extremely wary of supporting any move that legalizes online gambling.
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· Written by Tom L · Filed Under Poker News · Comments Off
