Internet Sports Gambling is a Good Thing

If we accept some basic premises, it becomes immediately clear that Internet sports gambling is a good idea.

A few basic vices have existed as long as civilization has, and they will never be eradicated. Those vices are gambling, drinking, drugs, and prostitution.

If anything, legal prohibitions actually increase the amount of such activities. Part of human nature is to be attracted to the forbidden. People naturally want to know why things are forbidden, and the only way to find out is to try. Compare the problem of teenage/college binge drinking in Europe and the United States. This problem is by far the greatest in the US. Likewise, in countries where marijuana is legal, it is simply not a big deal.

Now, as far as the basic vices go, I don't think it's too far of a reach to say gambling with small sums of money is the least harmful among them. Gambling does not spread disease. Gambling does not cause fatal car accidents.

Wherever things are prohibited, black markets arise. Black market activity leads to violence, unsavory characters gaining power, and even corruption in government, as black marketeers bribe the authorities.

Now, none of the above should be terribly controversial statements. Much more could be said on each point, but I am trying to be concise. I am here to say that I have accepted these premises, and now I want to share conclusions based on personal experience.

From what I have seen, the great majority of people interested in sports gambling are basically good, responsible people. In my business selling sports wagering advice, many customers have demonstrated impressive intelligence.

Sports wagering encourages practice with analytical thought. Poker does the same, and with both, most players feel that a superior mind is an asset. Serious sports gamblers and poker players often strive to be educated, and avoid activities (like the other vices) that might negatively impact mental acuity.

Gambling online, one is far less likely to fall prey to loan sharks or shady characters who allow gambling on credit. With online gambling sites, one must have money deposited in order to do anything. This is a completely different situation from the bad old days when gamblers would phone in a bet to a bookie, and if they lost, find themselves in debt. No online casino is going to come break legs over an unpaid debt.

Certainly online gamblers can (and have) found plenty of other ways to go into debt, but this is true of everything. Debt is chronic in our economy, and it is actually encouraged for anything deemed an acceptable vice by society, such as shopping addiction.

As is, American gamblers are handing over many millions of dollars every year to foreign companies. With both federal and state governments going through some of the worst budget crises in history, it is simply insane to prohibit Americans from online gambling, and from operating online gambling sites.

With legal online gambling, competition among books would increase to such an extent that they would be forced to offer a reduced house advantage. Players would lose less, and the disastrous effects on problem gamblers would at least be diminished.

What's more, sports gambling increases interest in watching sports on television. Even having $2 bet on a game can make it much more likely a person will tune in (I know this from personal experience). Corporate America should embrace this knowledge - higher TV ratings lead to greater advertising revenue, and theoretically to more economic activity.

It is high time for the US to join the rest of the civilized world in accepting online gambling, and benefitting society with a solid source of tax revenue.