Just over half of those responding don't want the U.S. government banning online gambling, but the same number applaud legalizing American e-casinos so the industry can be regulated, according to an Interactive Gaming Council survey.
Polling 1,000 adults in mid-to-late January, the IGC said, they also determined that less than 28 percent favored a formal and permanent cybergambling ban in the U.S.
The IGC survey determined three-quarters of those agree that gambling is an entertainment form no better or worse than any other, if done in moderation. And sixty percent of those responding said banning e-gambling would lead to more government restrictions on what you can or can't do in cyberspace.
"This survey clearly indicates that the public supports a person's right to gamble on the Internet, and opposes further government efforts to dictate what people do in the privacy of their own homes on their personal computers," said IGC spokeswoman Sue Schneider. "While we welcome government efforts to legalize and regulate the online gaming industry, we strongly believe that Americans have the right to spend their free time as they see fit."
The IGC has a kind of ally in Rep. John Conyers (D-Michigan), the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, who says gaming prohibition won't work any better than alcohol prohibition did. "Some Members of Congress believe they can somehow stop the millions of Americans who gamble online from visiting Internet sites by passing legislation to prevent the use of credit cards and other bank instruments to gamble the Internet," said Conyers, who wrote a bill to create a Commission on Internet Gambling, Licensing, and Regulation.
