President Bush signed into law Oct. 13 a measure restricting Internet gambling.
The legislation became law when the President signed the Security and Accountability for Every (SAFE) Port Act in a White House ceremony. That bill to increase protection for America’s ports included the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which requires financial institutions to block credit card and other payments to Internet wagering businesses, which primarily are located overseas.
Southern Baptist public policy specialist Richard Land applauded Bush for his action and again commended Congress for its passage of the anti-gambling legislation.
“All friends of families should be pleased with this measure,” said Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. “It will certainly help insulate homes from a parasitic addiction to gambling that sucks the life out of families and destroys marriages.
“Thousands of families have faced financial ruin and bankruptcy because of one of the fastest-growing addictions in the county,” he said. “This legislation will make it more difficult for these Internet gambling predators to reach into the pockets of America’s families and steal the future of children and spouses.”
The signing ceremony marked another devastating setback for online gambling companies.
Sportingbet and Leisure & Gaming, major Internet gambling firms, both sold their American operations for $1 Oct. 13, the Associated Press reported. In addition, World Gaming’s directors resigned, and the company appointed administrators to take over, according to AP. Sportingbet saved $14 million it would have incurred for closing its U.S. operations by selling them to an Antigua-based firm.
The Senate and House of Representatives passed the SAFE Ports Act, including the anti-gambling provision, in the early hours of Sept. 30, just before it recessed until after the Nov. 7 election.
News of the congressional action sent online gambling companies into a tailspin when stock markets reopened Oct. 2. Shares of PartyGaming, the largest of the Internet firms, decreased 58 percent on the London Stock Exchange on that date, with the company losing about $3.8 billion of its market capitalization in the process, according to The New York Times. Another online company, 888 Holdings, saw its shares fall 26 percent on the same day, the Times reported.
Both companies, which are based in Gibraltar, said they would halt transactions with American bettors if Bush signed the bill into law. PartyGaming receives 78 percent of its income from the United States, the Times reported.
The private nature of Internet gambling has resulted in its widespread use by minors and young adults, as well as addiction problems for people of all ages, opponents of the booming illegal enterprise have said. Americans were expected to pay $5.9 billion – about half of the $12 billion wagered worldwide on Internet gambling – to overseas, online casinos this year, bill sponsors said. Online gambling sites frequently act as fronts for money laundering, drug trafficking and financing for terrorists, they said.
The legislation requires the Treasury Department to publish regulations that would require financial institutions to bar transactions between U.S. bettors and online gambling companies. Violators could be fined or penalized.