Monday, October 02, 2006

Don't bet on my business 

I cannot tell you how annoying I find the news that Congress managed to sneak in a provision in the Safe Ports Act to prevent any U.S. bank from transferring money to an offshore online betting company. President Bush is expected to sign it.

Do I gamble online? Yes I do. Is this going to stop me from playing on sports books? No, not really; I can acquire a credit card online from Canada, the UK, or Europe and transfer money that way, or use an offshore wire transfer facility. I can send cash; or I can stop at a bank when I travel to Europe if I need to fund my account further. But the US has dominated this business to the point where banks make a large amount of money from it, and this gives US security officials an easy point from which to check on transfers of money, as they have in the past. This strikes me as another example of how the Republicans have become a party that hands out favors to constituencies at election time without regard for the principles violated. Do not gamble with my loyalties, friends.

Tags: economics, gambling

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