Legislation promises to pave the way for more Internet gambling

By Richard Land - Jul 27, 2010 -

In a letter to Congressman Spencer Bachus (R-AL) today, I reaffirmed the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission’s strong opposition to any effort within the House Financial Services Committee to move forward with the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act (H.R. 2267).

As Southern Baptists’ advocate in Washington, D.C., we oppose this bill as it would overturn many U.S. gambling laws and could significantly harm America’s youth, families, and communities. We do not want to see the current Internet gambling laws weakened by the adoption of this bill.

We are especially troubled by several provisions in H.R. 2267. The bill’s “safe harbor” provision exempts licensees from state and federal regulations by providing “complete defense against any prosecution.” This provision would eliminate enforcement of many consumer protection and regulatory laws. In addition, as the National Association of Attorneys General warns, H.R. 2267 strips individual states of their traditional authority to regulate gambling by giving this power to the Treasury Department. It also takes away the power to criminalize Internet gambling from the individual state citizens and gives it to governors, as they can effectively repeal state gambling laws by choosing not to opt out of legalized Internet gambling with the Treasury Department. In addition to these provisions, this bill would serve the financial interest of oversees gambling firms and complicate U.S. trade commitments.

Furthermore, we are opposed to an amendment by Congressman John Campbell that would supposedly allay concerns on H.R. 2267. This so-called fix is woefully inadequate. The Campbell Amendment still allows for the legalization of gambling over the Internet. It does nothing to resolve this problem, and is therefore unworthy of support. We oppose the Campbell Amendment for the same reason we oppose H.R. 2267.

For these reasons, we urged Rep. Bachus (as well as other Congressmen) to oppose H.R. 2267, as well as the Campbell Amendment and any other efforts to legalize or weaken our current laws regulating Internet gambling in the United States. This is a critical issue for the overwhelming majority of Southern Baptists, as the erosion of Internet gambling laws threatens many American communities, families, and young adults with financial and social unrest.

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