Government's Bizarre Anti-Gambling Fetish

Web Search This Subject

By: John D. Hamilton

So far, two apparently innocent business people have been arrested in "the land of the free (nudge-nudge, wink-wink)" on nebulous, bizarre charges that make absolutely no sense whatsoever--unless you're a holier-than-thou bible-thumping powerfreak, a Nanny Statist, or a politician seeking Votes, Re-election and Glory.

Peter Dicks (pictured above--a true porn name if there ever was one, but that's another story), chairman of the online bookmaker Sportingbet, was arrested Thursday, 7 September 2006 in New York on a ludicrous warrant from Louisiana--you remember, the noted backwater which can't seem to protect it's own citizenry in any tangible, meaningful fashion? Well, it seems the Keystone Kop-like politicians there have some incredibly broad and seemingly nebulous laws regarding loose interpretations of the US Wire Act and legitimate Internet gaming.

Some of you may recall that back in July, David Carruthers, then CEO of BetonSports, was arrested in Dallas, Texas on looney-tune charges of taking bets on the Internet. He was acquited of charges including racketeering and tax evasion. It seems that when it comes to what the rest of the world takes for granted as normal, everyday activities is enough to cause massive erections inside government "justice" offices--erections that have to be used on somebody, somehow or another.

So what's the big fuss really about, anyway? Why are all these foreigners (mostly our so-called friends and allies, the British, it seems) being busted in America for running businesses that are legal damn near everywhere else in the world? Is it that the rest of the world is crazy, or is it maybe that America has a couple of puritanical screws tightened down just a little too much, restricting proper bloodflow to the brain of the Body Politik? And what I'd like to know is, why don't these people just stay the fuck outta the airports of such a hayseed country as ours?

We Don't Like It, So You Can't Do It.

Most Americans, and therefore most American politicians, are a weird, hypocritical bunch...they like to bitch, whinge and stomp their feet about one thing while doing just the opposite. The story regarding gambling in America falls squarely into that category.

We gamble all the time...we bet our lives we'll arrive at our destination whenever we get behind the wheel of a car or board an airplane; we bet our futures when we make decisions regarding investments; hell, some of us bet our children's future over trumped-up wars. Yet when it comes to placing bets for relaxation, fun or just for the hell of it--forget it, pal...we ain't havin' none of that around these parts. Unless, of course, it's a church-sponsored raffle or a state lottery.

In essence, the issue of gambling (like almost every other "morality legislation" in existence) is based on lies, manipulation, wanton power-grabbery and yes, even mythological conceit. Also, like every other morality legislation ever devised, the existence of that very legislation creates a vast, underground network beyond the oversight of proper law enforcement, the public, its customers and even amongst proper government reguation. Since the very act of gambling is illegal, why not employ equally illegal tactics regarding bookkeeping, taxes, "collection," etc.? After all, it's not like anybody engaged in an illegal activity is gonna file a grievence with the SEC, the Gaming Commission or the board of directors, are they?

Almost every form of gambling is illegal somewhere in America (in direct opposition to the tenents of the Constitution which guarantees the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness); so who or what do we thank for this? Is there some secret organisations involved? Is there some alliance between government and crime families which keep it illegal? Naw, mate--it's just a simple, if unusual, alliance between liberal Nanny Statists and so-called Conservatives. Wait--did I say "unusual?" Bad choice of words, actually--it should have read a "logical alliance" between the two. Let's entertain ourselves by delving a bit deeper into this, shall we?

Before we get too far into this thing, allow me to define a couple of terms here..."Nanny Statists" are those misguided zealots who claim to be superior in some manner to the rest of us mere mortals. They claim possession of some Greater Understanding and Power that entitles them to tell the rest of us what is good (or bad) for us, and therefore the right to go running to government to have their edicts enforced. Their forte is typically the field of morality legislation; laws which are created to either outlaw or heavily restrict certain activities or products that these Nannies don't particularly care too much for--like gambling, sex, drugs, cigarettes, etc. Conversely, they seek to create things they are for, like welfare, greater rights for certain groups or individuals over others, etc. 

Nanny Statists are comprised of both liberals and conservatives; even atheists and the religious right. This may seem a perfect example of the term "strange bedfellows," but not really. Liberals are typically Nannies because they feel that government should be protecting us not only from ourselves but from the "fact" that us commoners aren't as smart as they are and that government should be giving us things and correcting perceived injustices. Conservatives are Nannies because they think that they are not only smarter than we are, but holier than we are as well. The slight difference is that while liberals would typically cause government to enforce the creation and utilisation of certain goods, regulations and behaviours, conservatives would seek to enforce the non-creation and non-utilisation of certain goods, sercice and behaviours. In simpler words, liberals think they're smarter than the rest of us, while conservatives insist they're morally superior to the rest of us. Where they're exactly the same is in the notion that both camps believe it's government's business to enforce their views against our wills.

Gambling falls neatly into both sides of this camp. Liberals think gambling is bad because we're all helpless buffoons just a roll of the dice away from giving away our paychecks, houses and cars while the conservatives claim that gambling supports crime, the deterioration of "family values" and is just plain heathenistic. What they both want you to forget is that it's really none of their damn business. I've been involved in computer programming for years and have been surfing the Internet since the days it was simply a researcher's tool and I've never been forced by anyone to gamble online. I've passed a zillion gambling joints both here and abroad and have never been forced to enter a single one of them and hand over any cash...I'm sure I'm not the Lone Ranger in this regard.

And even if I had, what business is it really of any liberal or conservative? My business is not their business and my life isn't their life...they just assume it is, because too many people won't stand up for themselves. Most of us are too lazy to handle our own lives and are all too happy to let any schmuck who claims to know better, for any reason, come along and manage our affairs for us. We've become so accustomed to the fact that any pressure group who rolls up to Washington, D.C. can get government to do anything they want that we've lost the will to fight for ourselves.

Naturally, there are hypocritical exceptions...almost every state in America has a lottery; that's different, the Nannies insist, because "we're allowing that particular form of gambling for the Greater Good." This greater good is usually tied to education, some trumped-up vote-buying public projects and the like--all things government has no business being involved in anyway, but so what? It's good for them votes and keeping Our People in power, ain't it, Enis? Sure it is, good buddy...those states that claim their lotteries "enhance" education--giving the impression they're going to use lottery proceeds to add to regular eduction spending--instead always reduce the amount of monies earmarked for education which is collected in taxes, so that the net result--if we're lucky--is that the lottery simply replaces tax money which would have been used for education--and sometimes it doesn't even do that. The same is true for those areas that "allow" casinos to operate...the heavy taxation (actually the payment of protection money when you get right down to it) applied to these operations are supposedly used for the greater good via outrageous public works projects and maybe, once again, for education; actually, it usually simply makes up for the shortfalls that occur when politicians then use the tax money that would have been used for those things for more vote-buying and feel-good projects of dubious value. So much for the Greater Good argument, innit? More like the greater good for politicians and their sychophants only.

The simple fact of the matter is that gambling has become artificially stigmatised by its opponents--set up as a straw man for their own agendas; and that stigma clouds our judgement. If you tell someone often enough that a rose is really a pile of bullshit, eventually people are gonna believe it...or at least not care anymore, especially if they're not really into either male bovine excrement or roses. But it's that simple abdication of reason and fact that allows the freaks in power to consolidate that power and continue to hoodwink us and fuck us over.

There is nothing naturally wrong or evil with gambling...despite what the hypocrits and those who claim their Superiority over the rest of us want us to believe. It neither causes crime in and of itself, nor does it support criminal activities. It is a recreation that has fallen out of favour with certain idiots who have somehow managed to convince the rest of us that we're the nidiots and that they're only looking out for us. Fuck them...I don't need or want their looking after. And neither should you.

Each and every one of us should stand behind people like Carruthers and Dicks as well as their businesses. They are being persecuted simply bacause they are providing a service that people voluntarily engage in at their own discretion, much like a cinema or the theatre or even a pub. The only difference is certain assholes don't like it, and they've managed to pervert government into doing their bidding while bullshitting themselves and us into thinking that it's for our own good. Don't believe them for a minute.