SOURCE: Bloomberg

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If legislators were brave, they would use the WTO ruling as an excuse to reverse the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and instead legalize and tax the online gambling industry.

That would allow the U.S. government to know who was offering its citizens the chance to gamble, and to impose rules and restrictions that would prevent children and vulnerable groups from placing bets.

It would also generate vast tax revenues.

Oddly, perhaps the biggest opponents of legalizing online gambling are the major sports leagues and organizations. The National Football League and National Collegiate Athletic Association are the most vocal of these, believing that betting may taint their sports.

Legalize It

The leagues ignore the fact that in pretty much every town across the U.S. you can place a bet at a local bar or barber shop and that the people who suffer financially when a game is fixed are the bookmakers, who have to pay out the winnings.

Almost all the point-shaving scandals of recent years have been uncovered because Las Vegas bookies noticed unusual betting patterns and pointed them out to the relevant authorities.

If all betting could be done through legal channels, then these markets would be easier to police.

Laws that are either widely disobeyed or unworkable are bad laws. A year after its passing, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act is both disobeyed and unworkable.

The sooner it's scrapped, the better.

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