INTRODUCTION
Today one of the largest growing businesses in the United States is gambling including betting on Slot machines, Poker, Blackjack, to sports betting on the National Football League to the NCAA. The big business of gambling is getting bigger. However this is not taking place in the famous casinos of Las Vegas or Atlantic City. It is happening in homes across America. This paper along with a brochure campaign, will argue to the state of Nevada law makers and to the American gaming public that online gambling should be legalized in the state of Nevada. It will cover the history from the beginning of gambling to Online gambling, defining the laws against Internet gambling in the United States and why other countries allow it along with how it is impossible to band.

Gambling online in the United States is illegal by a law that classifies online gambling within the United States the same as gambling over the phone. But that doesn’t mean it is not happening. Just walk into any college dorm or log onto any poker site where you will be joined by over twelve million Americans who gamble in online Casinos (Hartman).

So why should the American public, along with the online gamblers and the United States lawmakers even bother with this problem and change this Law? There is a need for a change in this law because the United States have lost over ten billion dollars in profits to online gaming companies based in foreign countries (Online gambling to generate 10 billion dollars: report). This money could have been inserted into the United States economy and would be taxed and controlled by a regulating committee. This is also a predicament because of the worldwide network that the internet provides. The global network makes it impossible for the United States to enforce the current law.

WHAT IS ONLINE GAMBLING
Gambling occurs when people play some sort of game with stakes. These games are played at stakes for your money which is in jeopardy of being lost. Another kind of gambling is betting, which is putting money on the outcome of an event with the result of a team, horse, person, or any type of side decides what gets paid off. So the definition of gambling is betting on the end result of event, game, or chance of happening. These events have typically happened inside the confines of elaborate casinos but today it is happening on an internet network.

Online gambling happens on internet casinos that are based in counties where the online gambling is legalized. These online Casinos have various types of games and features such as: Baccarat, Bingo, Blackjack, Charitable Gambling, Consultants, Contests and Sweepstakes, Craps, Equipment rentals, Guides, Lotteries, Poker, Publications, Roulette, Slots, Software and Sports (ODP Gambling Games).

The online casinos are made up of downloadable software that the user has to download (ODP Gambling Guidelines). Following downloading the software, the customer has to complete a money transaction which is done in a variety of ways through phone or internet. Once the transaction is complete money invested into the casinos “bank” can be gambled at any game or bet offered by the casino. While online casinos and those games that are in them contribute to the business which is online gambling, most games are losing popularity. However there is one game that is growing enormously, internet poker.

Internet poker is by far the most well-liked type of online gambling at this time. The current poker craze that started in 2003 with the televised World Series of Poker made many Americans become addicted to the game. This national addiction, as it has been called, has led to the current state of online gambling.

HISTORY OF ONLINE GAMBLING
Gambling has been part of America as early as the 1600’s when the British settlers brought it over from England. Gambling today still involves the same dice, cards and tables as it had then but today it has evolved into a multi-million dollar business. However there is only one state where gambling is legal in the United States, Nevada. Even in Nevada where any twenty one year old can walk into a casino and sit down at a poker table, it is illegal for them to place a bet through an electronic device at their home. Since internet gambling was feasible this law has been questioned and objected to.

The initial law that bands online gaming is called the Federal Interstate Wire Act (the Wire Act) of 1960. The act stated "in the business of betting or wagering knowingly or (using) a wire communication facility for the transmission in interstate or foreign commerce of bets or wagers or information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers” (Borin). Since 1960 various laws have been made that are against online gambling. Acts such as the Organized Crime Act of 1970 makes it “a federal crime to participate in illegal state gambling business”, and the Federal Travel Act, which is comprehended differently by the courts, says it is a crime for all “interstate communications that facilitate the distribution of gambling proceeds” (Bell). Most of these laws were established to stop Organized Crime and Mobsters in America in the 1960s but are still used today against online gambling.

With the internet gaining widespread use in the early 1990’s the first online casino popped up in 1995. The casino had eighteen different gambling games and was based overseas. Overseas casino’s and poker sites have spread like wildfire as there seems to be a never-ending business in America (Bell).

TODAYS LAWS AGAINST GAMBLING: KEEPING COMPANIES OUT OF AMERICA
Trying to find an online gaming site today is no hard task. You have millions at your fingertips anytime you log onto a computer. After typing “online casino” to the Google search engine at google.com 30,300,000 responses occurred in just one tenth of a second. Or say you didn’t want to try your luck with online slots; you just wanted to sit down at a poker table. Google had 44,400,000 responses in one third of a second. All of the casinos and poker sites that are available to you have one thing in common, that they are all based on foreign lands.

Today’s laws along with the acts of the 1960’s and 70’s mak these gaming sites illegal be used in America, nonetheless online gambling can not be one hundred percent stopped although some online gambling prohibitionists are trying to. These prohibitionists are against online gambling for many of the same reasons they are against gambling in general. The fear is that unwarranted and extreme gambling may bring financial damage to the gamblers and the people that surround them.

One of today’s leading online gambling prohibitionists is Republican Arizona Senator Jon Kyl. Senator Kyl introduced the Gambling Prohibition Act to the United States Congress in 1997. The Act would ban all online commercial contests throughout the United States for everyone involved.

Another Bill that goes by the same name, the Online Gambling Prohibition Act was introduced to the House of Representatives through two Representatives, Republicans Robert Goodlatte from Virginia and Frank A. Lobiondo from New Jersey. The bill was different because it would target not only users but all amateur betters. This law will make calling up a friend and betting fifteen dollars on the game, it makes it a federal crime (Bell).

These legislative proposals would do very little to ban internet gambling. These bills would require the federal government to step up and take an aggressive role to monitor the civilian’s use of the internet. Monitoring the internet would be nearly impossible and would hinder our civil liberties.

WHY BANNING ONLINE GAMBLING IS AN INEVITABLE FAILURE
Gambling, wherever it is taking place is going to popular. While trying to ban online gambling would hinder our civil liberties there are other factors that would never let a bill that banned it pass. One reason is the same reason of why people gamble in the first place, for the enjoyment of gambling. Other reasons are that it encourages economical development and the exhibiting laws can not be enforced so why would future laws? The odds are truly against the prohibitionists.

People enjoy gambling. They enjoy gambling in casinos. They enjoy gambling on cruise ships. They enjoy gambling in their own homes. For this reason people will always finds ways to gamble. For gamblers it is the exhilaration and pleasure that they get from the risk that makes it enjoyable. Some people view gambling as a quick way to make money. This may seem absurd because it is well known that the house has the odds but gamblers increase their chance of winning money by understanding the games and their rules of a game to better their odds
The fact that people enjoy to gamble means there is a future for economical development in this field. This happens in a couple different ways. One way is to produce economical development is through taxes. This would happen in online gambling if it was legalized and the profits would be put back into the community the same way state lotteries work. Another is tourism. While foreigners can not travel on an online plane, stay in an online and eat in an online casino, they can play the online casinos from around the world. Asked what would happened to his business if online gambling would become legalized Terri Lanni, the CEO of MGM/Mirage said that it “could instantly double its $8 billion-a-year revenues” (Hartman). These economical profits would benefit American companies along with the American public (Gambling 20).

The third reason why online gambling can not be stopped is because the laws that already exist can not be enforced. Today hundreds of people gamble money on foreign internet casinos, as they will continue to do even though the federal government says that “gambling on the Internet is against the law (Hartman).” This shows that gambling laws that do exist are not enforced and why millions of people, daily feel comfortable “breaking” the law.

These three factors show why people started gambling, and most importantly, why they will continue to do so. People see it as a form of enjoyment, where you have a chance to make money. While it is illegal to gamble on the internet it continues to happen for the fact that people are safe doing it.

OTHER COUNTRIES’ LAWS
When people log onto an internet poker site or and online casino it is not based out of America, it is based overseas where it is legal. Many countries today have legalized online gambling and are making a profit off of it. The purpose of this part of the paper is to define foreign countries laws towards online gambling.

It is not just the small foreign islands that have legalized online gambling today. Other countries such as, Australia, New Zealand, Antigua, Great Britain, Austria, Belgium, Germany and South Africa have also legalized online gambling. They all tax the betting and some companies are on the British Stock Exchange. In all 64 countries have decided to legalize online gambling (Hartman). They have all have chosen different laws to legalize online gambling.

Great Britain is home to 76 English language gambling sites. Great Britain did not legalize one hundred percent of online gambling. Online casino style games that are most popular are not permitted in Great Britain. They allow land based sports books to accept online bets and lottery tickets may be purchased online (Online Gaming Jurisdictions). However there is a movement in Great Britain to legalize online gambling completely.

One of the most popular foreign countries to host online casino and poker sites is Gibraltar. Gibraltar has 103 English language gambling sites, and some of the most popular in America. It is home to PartyPoker.com and PacificPoker.com. They first started to legalize online gambling in 1998 when they gave out licenses to online casinos and poker sites. Gibraltar only licenses companies with an established record along with software testing. They also pay a fee of two thousand pounds per year and taxes (Online Gaming Jurisdictions). This is different for every country.

Some countries are actually attacking the United States because of their anti-gaming laws. Antigua and Barbuda took the United States to the World Trade Organization (WTO) for the United State’s stance on anti-internet gambling. They claimed that it deters their economic development (Dorey). In April 2005 after an initial ruling by the WTO and an appeal by the United States, an appellate body ruled that “the United States made general obligations to allow gambling across national borders as part of a free trade treaty that it was not fulfilling (Online Gaming Jurisdiction). Both countries took it as a victory and interrupt the ruling differently.

Whether it is Great Britain that is just starting the movement to legalize online gambling, Gibraltar who is one of the leading countries in online gambling, or Antigua and Barbuda who actually are making the United States aware of the international movement towards online gambling legalization the legalization movement has also started in the United States.

WHY ONLINE GAMBLING SHOULD BE LEGAL IN THE UNITED STATES
This section of the paper will argue for my proposed campaign that online gambling should be legalized in the State of Nevada and that this will show the United States the benefits from online gambling. It will show that it should be legal because that the laws already existing are not enforced. There is also a market pull in America for online gambling to be legalized. It will also show how online gambling will make gambling more convenient for the gambler.

The Live Wire Act, (previously explained in Today’s Laws against Gambling: Keeping Companies out of America) is not enforced. It is impossible to enforce the laws with the internet structured to be on endless web. The configuration of the internet weakens the police ability while trying to enforce online gaming laws and while the police get new technology to help bust down on gambling so do the companies. Along with the internets endless web the civil liberties of Americans also keep the government from spying on them. The overseas companies are protected from the American laws by national sovereignty which keeps the United States from making other countries ban online gambling (Bell). So as long as there is one safe place for online casinos, which there always will be, online gambling will continue to exist.

The proposal should also be considered for the fact that there is a market pull for the online gaming industry in America. 90 percent of all online gamblers are American (Bernhard). American companies are making 0 percent profit off of those online gamblers. The big casinos in Las Vegas want a piece of the pie of internet gambling but can not have any till it is legal here in the United States. In 1999 persons in the United States gambled 59 billion dollars online, not one cent of it went towards an American company, American fees, or American taxes (Bernhard). Some argue that legalizing gambling will start a gambling revolution in America and will spike a high rate of crime. This is only half true. There is already a gambling revolution in America so why not join for our own benefits.

Online gamblers will also benefit personally themselves too. Besides the fact that they won’t be performing an illegal act they will be able to gamble at home in the comfort of their own humble abode. It will be away from the frenziedly flow of alcohol which is in Las Vegas and help their gambling decision. The Free market that it will create will have the truthful and honest companies dominate while the bad companies will be removed. This will make gambling cheaper. Why should people get to enjoy various other types of entertainment at home and not gambling (Bell)? This is benefits the consumer which is most important.

Legalizing online gambling will benefit all parties concerned. It will help generate money for the American Government through taxes and fees get American companies involved with profits of online gambling that are being lost, and will benefit the consumers, the gamblers themselves.

MY PLAN TO LEGALIZE ONLINE GAMBLING
The overall argument for this paper is to legalize gambling. This is such a big task so this part of the paper is to put it in realistic terms. This paper proposes to start the move forward to legalize online gambling in the gambling capital of America, Las Vegas, Nevada. It is proposing and then pushing for laws to be passed that would make it legal for companies to have online casinos and online gambling sites, if they were based out of the state of Nevada. This law would also be taxed and a fee placed on the companies for their licenses. Along with the law, it is also promoting an ad campaign to increase the bills popularity.

The type of bill that would be proposed would call for a legalization of online gaming in Nevada. All American companies that would want to be in the business of online gambling would have to have their headquarters in Nevada. This wouldn’t outlaw the rest of the United States from gambling on their online sites, so it would “theoretically” be legal for everyone to gamble in the United States. It is in theory having a central base for all online gambling companies in America and establishing that the Wire Act does not cover internet gambling anymore. This would inevitably lead to success and the rest of the states would follow suit.

Part of the bill would be to have a regulating committee to oversee online gaming. It would be completely separate from the Nevada Gaming Commission. The committee would regulate which companies were given licenses. For a company to get an online gaming license they would have to pay a certain fee, one that like the licenses would have to be paid every year. These factors would help out the American economy.

Along with proposing and supporting a new bill there is a second part to this project, an ad campaign. The campaign will consist of pamphlets that would be distributed at casinos and local business in Nevada which also support this paper. The pamphlets will consist of stats and information not made available to the public. The rationale for the pamphlets is to gain public support of what this paper is about and legalizing online gambling. It will also encourages the public to contact local lawmakers and voice their opinions.

The proposal to legalize online gambling in this paper and the support gained by the pamphlets should be enough to make the law makers aware of the need to legalize online gambling. It should be shown that it is inevitable for this to be moved from a proposal to something with a great deal of more significance.

EVALUATING THE SIGNIFGANCE OF THE PROPOSAL
People can very easily point out negative points that have to do with online gambling. This however is not the case with this planned proposal and campaign to sponsor online gambling. The benefits that are produced greatly outweigh the negative which will be addressed. With this exact proposal there are two main positive points that will also be covered.

One benefit this plan brings to the table is the economical boost. This will help gambling companies in the United States because of the market pull for this to happen in the United States. The United Sates is losing over 59 billion dollars a year from Americans to other countries (Bernhard). With this legal most likely these profits will be going to American companies (Online gambling to generate 10 billion dollars: report). It will also put money into the government through the license fees and taxes that are part of the plan.

Along with profiting the gambling companies it will also benefit the gamblers themselves. Online gambling allows people to stay at home and gamble, or wherever they are most comfortable. As said before this will take a percentage of gamblers away from casinos and place them in their homes, where it is a cave full of gambling traps with an endless flow of alcohol.

Besides the benefits of everything, there come drawbacks. Most of these negativities can be addressed when speaking about online gambling. Two main counter arguments you hear against legalized online gamble are that it will corrupt the youth of America because it is immoral, and that it will lead to a gambling addiction. With the proposal America’s youth will have less of a chance to gamble because the United States will be able to set the standards for the gambling sites. Thus we will be able to control who gambles, not a foreign country. America is in a gambling addiction already. It started in 2003 when poker went to cable and is now on TV everyday of the year. So far other countries have been profiting off of our craze. While it may seem like a negative, once the proposal is in effect the negatives will be decreased.

Overall the benefits of legalized gambling are far more important than the negatives. The people will be able to make their mind up for themselves with the correct information and hopefully the proposal will be supported by nearly everyone.

CONCLUSION
As you know online gambling is considered illegal in the United States through the Live Wire Act. However this paper has argued various reasons of why online gambling should be legalized in the state of Nevada. With the frequent online gamblers that America has the laws existing are impossible to enforce. While some prohibitions try to ban online gambling overall it has too many benefits. The money which overseas companies are making could help our economy, our companies and would benefit American gamblers. This proposal along with a pamphlet campaign makes a capable way of getting support for online gambling to be legalized.

(Note: There is no Pamphlet that goes along with this report. I have chosen to write the full length paper instead of accompanying it with the pamphlets. The pamphlets however would be part of the campaign if I were to realistically pursue the goal of legalizing online gambling)

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