Online Betting Is Booming, Despite Critics

July 3 -- Ed Starrs may be a gambling man, but his latest bet has him worried.

Starrs is president of Antigua-based Starnet Systems, one of a number of Internet gambling operations that have increasingly come under the scrutiny of U.S. lawmakers who would like to put online gaming out of business.

But so far, legislators have remained unable to push through Congress any substantial measures to curb Web wagering.

And in the absence of such laws, say observers, Internet gambling has flourished.

Explosive Growth, Unchecked by Law

Online gaming — operated mostly by offshore, unregulated companies — has grown at an explosive rate. There are now over 250 online casinos, 64 lotteries, 20 bingo games and 139 sports books in operation on the Internet, according to the National Gambling Impact Study Commission.

Starrs remains concerned that U.S. laws to do away with gambling on the Net could harm his company, which licenses customized Internet gaming software to 60 Web-based gaming operations that derive about $2 billion from wagers placed in the United States.

But he appears to have little to fret over, at least for now. That’s because efforts by lawmakers to fight to outlaw the expanding Internet-based gambling industry have so far come to naught.

Bills Sidetracked in Congress

Anti-gaming legislation, citing the dangers of addiction, crime and consumer debt, first made its way before Congress in early 1997. After working its way through the House at a snail’s pace, those those legislative efforts have recently become sidetracked.

In late June, Christian activists and conservatives pressured House Republican leaders into withdrawing the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act (H.R. 3125), a bill that prohibits gambling businesses from taking bets or wagers over the Internet, in order to toughen its language and alter its exceptions.

Another anti-gaming bill’s prospects are also in doubt, say experts. The measure, H.R. 4419, is designed to stem the flow of funds to Web-based wagering sites by prohibiting the use of credit cards or other financial instruments for Internet gambling transactions. Most online gambling sites accept payment via credit card or let you wire cash electronically.