As reported by: Middle East Times
US lawmakers' high-stakes and morally charged offensive on Internet gamblers has as much chance of success as America's 1920s Prohibition against alcohol, several analysts said Monday.

The Republican-controlled Congress Saturday hustled through a bill that outlaws US banks and credit card companies from processing online bets. It was expected to be signed by President George W. Bush this week.

Internet service providers can also block US bettors' access to gambling sites, operated out of offshore tax havens but controlled by fast-growing companies based most notably in Britain and Canada.

Republicans tucked the measure into a bill aimed at enhancing port security, proclaiming a pre-election "values" agenda designed to protect youngsters from the financial and moral damage of online gambling.

London stocks of online betting sites, which derive most of their earnings in the United States, went into meltdown.

But some analysts said that a potentially lucrative regulation, rather than prohibition, was still the most likely outcome for Internet gambling once November 7 elections to Congress are out of the way.

Ken Weitzner, who runs the Eye on Gambling Website, said that the bill "doesn't seem enforceable." Gamblers could, for instance, wire money to offshore banks to replenish their poker accounts, or bet through third-party agents out of reach of the US law.

Article By: Middle East Times