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nytimes.com:

With pressure mounting on the federal government to find new revenues, Congress is considering legalizing, and taxing, an activity it banned just four years ago: Internet gambling.

Read the whole story: nytimes.com

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Comments

[STUPIDgit]

Hurray! Another poverty tax.

I'm all for legalizing it because it's supposed to be a free country but as I'm sure many of you know, lotteries and casinos make most their money from small time gamblers. Add smoking taxes, alcohol taxes, gas taxes, sales taxes and all the other little taxes and it adds up to a horribly lopsided tax rate on the poor.

Couldn't ask our government to tax stock trades though. That would upset the rich.

[joemartin1296]

the so-called "rich" already pay a disprportionate amount of taxes, so your argument doesn't hold. why do people like you loathe those with money? besides, those "rich" also pay gas taxes and sales tax. and because, presumably, the "rich" buy more goods than the "poor", they would end up paying much more in the form of sales tax. you wouldn't be happy unless the top tax bracket was 90%, would you? god forbid someone has the courage to open a business and make more money than you. they must be evil.

as you stated, it is as free country. and nobody forces the impoverished to gamble, smoke or buy alcohol. if it is too burdensome... then refrain from it. couldn't be any simpler, could it?

and am i supposed to feel sorry for "poor" people who spend what little they have on gambling, alcohol and smokes? i'm guessing their money could be spent in a much more constructive manner.

[STUPIDgit]

Your view that the rich pay disproportionately more in taxes is the common one based on only looking at the Federal income tax. When all taxes are included in the equation (sales tax, social security tax, gas tax, etc...) often times the poor and middle class pay nearly the same percentage of their income on taxes.

[Richard McRae]

Oh wow, so taxing legal indulgences makes the government more money than banning it for ethical reasons? Wow, who'da thunk it?

You'd figure they'd have learned their lesson after seeing states like California and New York lose almost a half BILLION dollars a year in tobacco tax revenue because of their smoking bans. Banning legal activities is a silly, ridiculous thing.

[Monk2001]

GOOD! They should also legalize all drugs and prostitution as well. Regulate and tax it. ALTHOUGH Taxing a womens vagina could spring hysterical protests.

"Keep your paws off my vagina!!!!!!!"

Paws, my bad I mean laws!!!

[Paul Russell]

Why we don't already tax this is beyond me....I mean, it IS happening whether we like it or not...in millions of dollars too

So...let's capitalize for crying out loud

[speedntktz]

Alcohol, check. Gambling, double check. Drugs, on the ballot. What's left? Prostitution. Yep. With the new health care plan, the working girls can get regular checks and begin to pay taxes for the services they provide. USA, the new Amsterdam.

[David Chu]

To me, it's about not fighting impossible battles or fighting them ineffectively. There are better solutions out there than to throw people in jail for things that they do to themselves. Even if you make it illegal, people are going to do it.

A lot of laws today are totally outdated. My favorite politician will be one who gets rid of laws instead of making them. I don't think it's possible to live in the US without accidentally breaking some law.

[Warren Peace]

YES!!!! I bought like 75 variations of gambling website domain names back in 2001. Oh happy days!!!

[MISTERUNCONVENTIONAL]

Poker does not exist without cheating. Taking gaming online only opens up about a MILLION more ways to cheat at poker and other games online, not the LEAST of which is games rigged by the "house." It may only be a few %, but....it's not an honest game when they INTENTIONALLY deal AA versus KK more times than statistics indicate SHOULD occur. And who wins? They do, because of the huge rake they take when two players really go at it online.

Like marijuana legalization,and taxing the internet, approving (and taxing) online gaming is a fait accompli. As our nation slowly aspirates in its own debt, our government will some day even consider legalizing heroin.

[David Chu]

Let's say the poker sites do deal AA vs KK more often than usual. Who cares? It is irrelevant in the long term as long as you play your hands well. The rake that online sites take is really small especially when you compare it to the rakes that casinos take.

[Richard McRae]

You don't realize how online gambling works. The house makes the same amount of money no matter who wins. The house doesn't care. The rake for each game is based off the amount the players play with, not off of how much each person loses per hand. A gambling site (just like a real casino) couldn't care less if I take your money or you take yours. All they care about is that you play.

As far as legalizing gambling, drugs, prostitution, etc - so what if they do? Shouldn't we be responsible for our own actions? I'd much rather choose not to do something I disagree with than to have the government decide what's best for me and forbid me even the choice.

[studmoose]

Yeah!

The fix is supposedly (house advantage) in when you actually are at a casino.

What's the odds that you'll actually win in cyberspace?

[MISTERUNCONVENTIONAL]

Do you want a serious answer? Cause I've played online Texas Hold'Em for over 5 years, first with play chips, and more recently with cash.

[celticsrule]

Are you winning? This seems to be a good way to generate
money. It is not like people are not already gambling....

[David Chu]

Poker players measure their performance by how much money they expect to make per hour or a certain number of hands. Odds of winning if it is legalized is probably around 20%. Over a lifetime, the majority of players are losing players.