Come on blogguy, you hear of people suffering identity theft because they swiped their debit or credit cards at gas stations.
I think this is where you and I fail to really see eye to eye. And this is the type of bullshit I hear from politicians all the time:
In your opinion, if things are done in the open then it is impossible for things to go wrong. Regulation ensures that nothing funny can happen whereas online it all goes into this deep dark hole where evil lurks at every turn.
In my opinion you can regulate and keep things above reproach whether it's online or not online. If there are enough checks and balances in place then things should go smoothly although it's not guaranteed. If the thing is not set up well and there are loopholes that allow shady people to take advantage then they will. That goes for any business and whether it happens on shore, in a boat, in an airplane, in America, in a different country or online. The problem is that the U.S. government has its head in the sand and refuses to listen to arguments as to why regulation can work and what benefits it can create.
You've seen those dateline episodes where perverts go to a house where they assume they'll be able to have sex with a minor and then they are exposed. The internet was just a median for them to do this. Prior to the internet there were still perverts luring children to their home for illegal sex by offering money, candy etc. The problem isn't the internet, the problem is the pervert. Similarly, if you feel gambling is a problem then the problem isn't internet gambling, it's gambling. That's what I've been showing for the several months I've been writing now. What we have in the U.S. is a bunch of politicians who have a problem with gambling. They want all gambling gone but know they could never do it, so they've decided to attack the easiest thing - the internet as a start to their ultimate goal. I guarantee you that if Frist or Kyl had been elected as president that they would have had a study into gambling in general. I know that's the slippery slope argument but I don't trust these guys as far as I can throw them because IMO (and yes it's MY opinion) - when you start voting and making policies for any reason other than what is best for your country and your constituents you make me nervous. And all these guys have proven by their actions that they don't vote based on what's best they vote on personal convictions - just look at my article called why is America based on Religion. Patterns don't lie.
And by the way this is a classic clip by Barney Frank and really lays out the basic issue IMO. It's from Youtube and unfortunately the sound isn't in sync with his lips but the message is what is important:
YouTube - Update: Barney Frank Clip on Daily Show Last night