Gambling Offshore Articles | Gambling

By: Richard Bleuze

Offshore gambling has become popular because of the tremendous opportunities that are made available to gamblers and gambling houses alike. The history of offshore gambling can be traced back to the 1990's when a Caribbean island called Antigua (Barbuda) made online gambling legal. This resulted in a flood of gamblers especially from the US where the government tried in vain to make online gambling illegal. This decision was taken to control the problems caused due to gambling.   The US has been in a trade dispute over online gambling since 2003, mainly with Antigua and Barbuda.  The accusation was that the Caribbean government was exporting the gambling business to the US.  However, the WTO ruled that the US government acted against GATS (General Agreement in Trade and Services).  And the two countries are now joined by several countries around the world in trying to force the US hand.

Offshore gambling is only possible because of the Internet, which provides unprecedented opportunities for gamblers. Online gambling is a very lucrative business since it can be operated even if the laws of a country do not permit it.

Other recent inventions such as labtops and mobile phones have acted as catalysts in promoting offshore gambling.  The main reason behind this is that people can gamble from anywhere in contrast to land based gambling. Conventional gambling forces gamblers to be present at a particular site.  In offshore or on-line gambling, the gambler can play from anywhere around the world.

The licensing procedures have made the matter even more confusing since a company can get a license from one country, locate the server in another, and cater to the needs of customers from yet another country. Thus, the assortment of legalities and regulations make it impossible for governments around the world to curb or regulate offshore gambling activities.

My question thus is why do countries like the US not tax and regulate online gambling like the British and most other countries?   Is it because Las Vegas has too much power in Washington.  Seriously, something that is legal in over 100 countries and is participated in my mostly consenting adults seems to be a strange target. I would have to think this is lobbying money from Las Vegas, but that is just speculation.

Most of you know what happens next.  Sports gambling essentially goes back to the mafia, where you get a crooked line as always.  If you’ve ever bet with a bookie, he knows what your favorite team is and the lines can be very “fluid”.  Perhaps neighborhood poker games will increase in popularity, which isn’t a bad thing.

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