Facts Versus Faith Dominate Online Betting Sports Debate

Facts Versus Faith Dominate Online Betting Sports Debate
By Christopher Nole
General Online Casino News
Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition! In this supposedly enlightened age, many US citizens still claim their right to believe articles of faith, even when all scientific investigation and existing facts prove otherwise. The argument over legalized online gambling falls in the center of this phenomenon, as baseless assertions are refuted by scientific study, yet many continue to spread the falsehoods as beliefs beyond impeachment.

"It [Internet gambling] is so seductively habit-forming that individuals can in short order lose their homes and jobs and, indeed, their families and futures. And the effects on individuals rebound into society," says Former US Representative Jim Leach.

But objective scientific study finds otherwise.

“On a theoretical level, online gaming’s increased accessibility should make it more dangerous than traditional gaming. But... it does not seem to be the reality,” says Professor Dan Ross, director of research at the National Responsible Gambling Program in South Africa.

"The very first thing we learned (studying Internet gambling patterns), which we didn't expect, was that the vast majority, the overwhelming majority of gamblers online gamble in a very moderate and mild way," says Dr. Howard Shaffer after conducting a two-year study as director of the Division of Addictions at Harvard Medical School.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said, "However, we can exercise our right to oppose Internet betting on our games. ... Gambling on our games -- online or off line -- threatens the integrity of our games and all the values they represent."

But years of legal Las Vegas sports gambling have not hurt the NFL, and European sports leagues have found cooperation with online casinos essential to prevent corruption and undue influence.

Professor Earl Grinois of the Baptist school Baylor University says social ills of casino gambling do more damage than the revenue produced offsets. Grinois says introducing a casino into a neighborhood causes crime to increase five to eight percent, with the primary jump in violent crime like burglary and murder.

But actual facts show otherwise. Casinos were brought to Bossier City, Louisiana, fifteen years ago. "There were fears, even from all of us, about the crime," Bossier City Police Chief Mike Halphen said. "But, so far, crime (in Bossier City) has actually dropped."

In the meantime, Bossier City has beautified itself, redone infrastructure, funded social aid programs, seen decreased unemployment, and created a trust fund with over $30 million for future civic needs.

In Florida, Hallandale Representative Joe Gibbons testified in front of Grinois that casinos had come to his district two years earlier. `And in those last two years, our crime rate has gone down.''

Grinois responded that crime rates go up starting in the third year.One witness guessed if Gibbons had said four years, Grinois would have said five is the measure.

Michelle Combs of the Christian Coalition lobbies for the UIGEA, saying, "We’re not saying people shouldn’t go to Las Vegas. But when it’s in your home, it’s too easy. It breaks up families.”

Yet every bit of evidence is that this is not so. Dr. Shaffer's and Dr. Ross's research shows play at online gambling sites to be controlled and budgeted by the overwhelming majority of patrons. Religious groups like to relate horrible anecdotal stories of a single incident, disregarding the statistical insignificance of the occurrence. According to statistician Frederick Felson, "Saying Internet gambling caused one horror story and is therefore evil and must be barred is the equivalent of banning cell phones because one person was beaten with a cell phone."

US Representative Spencer Bachus tried to use scientific proof to back up his belief that Internet gaming leads to mental issues by asserting a survey proved that one in four teenagers who gambled online attempted suicide. Unfortunately for Bachus, the author of the study denounced his interpretation, saying he had totally misrepresented the facts. That seems to be a common position for religious right-wingers opposing online gambling.


Facts Versus Faith Dominate Online Betting Sports Debate