Ladies and Gentlemen, place your online bets!

Network World - Once again, the legalization of Internet gambling is back on the table. And heading up the effort to bring sanity to this issue is one of my favorite politicians, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.).

Along with other Democrats, Frank is taking advantage of a six-month reprieve on the implementation of a 2006 law (the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) banning online gambling. The plan is to push through a bill to both legalize and regulate online games such as poker, mah-jongg and other betting games.

Why would legalizing online gambling be a good thing? Because the public wants it! We know this because U.S. citizens spent an estimated $8 billion last year betting online.

Let's say the average punter spends $500 per year, meaning 16 million people were playing. To put that another way, given that the U.S. population over 21 years of age numbers about 225 million, then about 1 in 14 people have gambled online.

In a recent, admittedly unscientific, online poll by US News and World Report, more than 91% of respondents answered "Yes" to the question "Should Online Gambling Be Legalized?"

I'd say the will of the people was pretty clear.

So, what would happen if online gambling were legalized? Well, that depends on who you believe.

A gambling research analyst for Focus on the Family, a religious pressure group, contended: "This would go outside the walls of a brick-and-mortar casino, outside the walls of a convenience store lottery, and into the living rooms and homes of all Americans." I love the certainty of this assertion; not "could" but "would", like it might infest our dwellings in the manner of termites or damp rot.

The ranking member on Frank's House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), has sworn to block Frank's legislation saying, "Internet gambling is a threat to the youth of our country … Young people are particularly at risk because, if you put a computer in their bedroom or dorm room, it's a temptation that many cannot resist." Need I add, "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!"

What's curious is that there is little political interest in getting rid of state lotteries or stopping Indian gaming (although to be fair, Focus on the Family is against all gambling and quite possibly mixed dancing).

So, why no interest in curbing these tools of the devil? Well, that would be because of the money involved. Indian gaming? Twenty-eight billion dollars (FY '08). State lotteries? Over $75 billion in revenue of which $18 billion goes into state coffers (FY '08).

Given that, it's no surprise that legalizing online gambling is alluring as lots of greenbacks are involved. An analysis last year by a Joint Committee on Taxation found Frank's proposed legislation would generate nearly $42 billion of tax revenue over the next 10 years.

I'm not against gambling. I can't find any reasonable moral or ethical grounds to oppose it and, as someone once said, gambling is a tax on people who are bad at math. In fact, I find it surprising that in the land of the brave and the home of the free anyone would want to tell you what you can and can't do with your money. After all, if it's good enough for the states and good enough for Indian tribes, then why wouldn't it be good enough for Internet users?

Gibbs wagers he's right in Ventura, Calif. Roll the dice at backspin@gibbs.com.

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