
My piece mentioned how Spain has now joined Italy and the U.K. in opening the doors to businesses conducting Internet gambling, and South Africa is also considering such legislation. On the flip side, however, comes the news that France recently arrested two Austrian online-gaming executives, and Germany is considering its own version of legislation along the lines of the UIGEA.
What gives? In the case of both Germany and France, the answer seems to be state-sponsored lottery monopolies, the golden goose that each of these governments wants to protect. If it doesn't sound familiar, it should --- it's the exact same sort of venal, political greed responsible for the passage of the UIGEA here in the States. Then there are countries such as Russia, where four new "gaming zones" are in the process of being created, scattered across the Russian land expanse; these pre-selected areas are to be the only locales where gambling is allowed. There's some provincial Canadian legislation under consideration as well.
Nasty stuff. The only thing worse than legislated morality is selectively legislated morality. Right now the world is chock-full of the latter, all driven by greed.
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