The past week has been a bit of a roller coaster ride in the world of online gambling, filled with a very significant high and a series of stomach-turning lows.
On the positive side, Nevada has finally given its approval to Internet gambling. The decision comes after months of wrangling, votes, near-collapses of the motion, and a final triumphant vote on Monday. The governor is expected to sign the bill into law in the next few days, opening the door for Nevada to be the first U.S. state to offer legal Internet wagering.
But there have also been a number of screaming drops that will make it more difficult to gamble online.
The first low came in California, where the state assembly last week approved a bill that will make Internet wagering a crime for Californians. Online casino companies will also be held liable for offering their services to Californians.
According to Assemblyman Dario Frommer, the bill's author, the legislation will allow state and local prosecutors to "go after offshore gaming interests and make sure they are not taking advantage of our residents here." The people of California must be thanking that someone is keeping them safe.
Things also appear to be moving backwards in Oregon. State legislators last week approved a bill that is intended to curb online gambling by making it more difficult to collect gaming debts.
The measure, which passed by a vote of 57-2, prohibits the collection of gambling debts through credit card payments, checks, or electronic fund transfers.
The ban will likely have more of an effect on credit card companies than casinos, however. Credit providers will be reluctant to allow Oregonians to make casino charges the companies won't be able to collect on.
The final piece of bad news comes from a credit card company. Discover Card has just announced that it will no longer be processing transactions from online gambling sites. (Visa and MasterCard pulled the plug on gambling charges earlier this year.)
The decision comes on the heels of a lawsuit against Discover, launched by a player who racked up a $70,000 gambling debt. The man's lawyer argued that the company was responsible for allowing the man to rack up the bill, rather than blaming the man for spending money he didn't have.
According to the lawyer, "The greater evil is the credit card companies trying to make money off of people gambling online."
The reality of the situation, however, is that this was likely an attempt to avoid paying the debt. Online gambling just proved to be a handy scapegoat.
But regardless of who was responsible, Discover will cease to do business with all online casinos rather than screen users. And that seems to be the way things are going all over the place.
The very nature of the Internet makes it difficult for both casinos and credit card companies to verify players' locations. And as a result, they will stop offering their services to U.S. players and casinos, respectively, rather than risking lawsuits and fines.
The irony of this entire situation is that more than half of all online gamblers in the world are from the U.S. And that number doesn't seem to be dwindling - in spite of the fact that it is illegal for residents of all 50 states to gambling on the Internet.
The reality of the situation is that American players will continue to gamble online, offshore casinos will still allow Americans to play, and Americans will find other ways to deposit money into their casino accounts. So while the credit card companies may have gotten off the ride, there are still lots of people who want to go for another spin.
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