60 Minutes

[Robbie Robb]

60 minutes has a piece on internet gambling - seemingly specifically poker - on right now.

[JDMcNugent7]

that was pretty good.
alot of support for legalizing it.
of course there were idiots saying its too addictive but they're just dumb.

[Tony Cheval]

Yeah, gotta love a politician crying about 'graft and corruption'.

[Kurn]

I thought it was very good. The gaming industry people came off as articulate and honest. The pols came across as sanctimonious and self-serving.

I did get annoyed when Leslie Stahl kept stating "online gambling is illegal in the US." as if it were a fact. It isn't a fact. Although the Justice Dept under both Bush 43 and Clinton have asserted that it is illegal under The Wire Act, every time a court has made a judgment it has disagreed with the DOJ.

That being said, as much as I dislike saying it legalizing it and regulating it (disclaimer: I do not believe in govt regulating business at all) makes much more sense than the status quo.

there were idiots saying its too addictive but they're just dumb.

Sorry, JD, but there have been a number of studies that show much of internet activity can have an addictive component (not unlike chocolate), but that alone doesn't mean that the govt should get involved.

[JDMcNugent7]

obv. it is addictive to some ppl. maybe even most ppl.
i just dont think the gov. should be involved just b/c something is addictive.

[GeoffM]

Perhaps it should be illegal to smoke Marlboros in the U.S....oh wait, the government makes a killing on taxes for those items.

[Tony Cheval]

World of Warcraft is certainly addictive.

Somehow I don't see the gov'mint pushing to ban MMORPGs.

[Kurn]

agreed

[Penguinfan]

In all honesty, that is an excellent point. I can easilly argue where some video games are more destructive to society than poker.

[Tony Cheval]

Well sure, if you want to horribly misuse the term 'destructive to society'.