It may sound hypocritical for a Nevada newspaper to endorse efforts to control Internet gambling, but the type of online gambling lawmakers are working to regulate is far different than the kind that takes places in casinos.
Casinos are regulated, contribute a great deal in tax revenue, and have even begun to pay a small amount toward the treatment of problem gamblers.
Internet gambling companies, on the other hand, answer to no one. They are usually located offshore, and they are raking in millions of dollars in pure profit. And the practice is growing rapidly. It's expected to be a $24 billion- annually business by 2010.
Taking part is as easy as turning on the computer and punching in your credit card number. There can be little doubt that it's leaving many problem gamblers to piece together their broken lives.
And all of this despite the fact that Internet gambling is illegal, according to the federal Wire Act.
Lawmakers, recognizing the devastating potential Internet gambling possesses in a society of people fixated on making a quick fortune, are trying to stem the practice by forbidding the use of credit cards for settling online gambling debts. It's been passed by the House, and we hope the Senate follows suit.
An alternative would be to regulate Internet gambling so they are playing by the same sets of rules as legitimate gambling businesses. But no one knows if that's even possible because so many of the companies are not operating in the United States.
Gambling can have a place in society if it's regulated and responsible. If it's not, its only potential is to ruin lives.