Harping on One Issue
One of the reasons that it is so hard to actually listen to Spencer Bachus
discuss his policies and theories regarding the US online casino gambling
industry is largely because he is a bit of a hypocrite. Spencer Bachus is one of
the loudest voices in the US right now fighting against the legalization and
regulation of internet gambling in the US. One of the key reasons that Bachus
states that he is against the internet-based gambling industry is due to problem
and underage gambling. But the industry is finally calling him out on his
hypocrisy with the release of information noting that US Representative Bachus
has not made any moves to actually support problem gambling research or any
efforts to prevent and treat problem gambling at the land and online casino
gambling level. In addition to Bachus, Alabama Governor Bob Riley is in a
similar predicament.
Both of these online casino gambling foes have spread a lot of information and
misinformation about the internet gambling industry and have used the argument
of problem gambling rates in the US on several occasions as an argument against
the regulation of the industry. Interestingly, the media has now caught on to
the fact that Governor Riley has not allocated a single dime to of state monies
to support the victims of problem gambling with treatment and preventative
measures.
Those most respected in the realm of problem gambling in the United States seem
to agree on the fact that online casinos and internet-based gambling is not the
foe right now, it’s a lack of funding and support. There are just not a lot of
states providing resources to treat problem gambling. Considering how much
Bachus and Riley harp on the high rates of US problem gambling as an
anti-internet gambling argument it’s just interesting to see that some of it is
just a wee bit hypocritical. |