Foe of Online Gambling Bill Revealed for Self-Interest

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Foe of Online Gambling Bill Revealed for self-interest | Joseph Alongi
http://www.usaonlinecasinos.us/articles/139/1/293/Foe-of-Online-Gambling-Bill-Revealed-for-Self-Interest.html

Speakers both for and against Barney Frank's bill regulating online gambling have been numerous. Some of those professing to be concerned about a spread in problem gambling have been revealed to be hypocrites only guarding self interest, including Joseph Alongi.

Alongi names himself as a former gambler, and insists the potential social cost of legal online casinos is too high to pay.

"Although the revenue to individual states is tempting, the harsh reality of gambling addiction is the insidious way it destroys lives and ruins families," says Alongi. He states that the recession has created a desperation among budget-challenged lawmakers. "Legislators are trying to capitalize on this hardship."

But it turns out Alongi runs a website, BetAgainstMe, that uses a social network format with a recurring fee to provide gambling legal under current standards. The site, which allows betting without any risk to the player, turna gambling into a contest among all members, only the very top few of whom claim prizes. Meanwhile, the site makes steady cash off membership fees and advertising.

"If Frank's bill passes, then Bet AgainstMe will become a ghost town site," says gaming analyst Robert O'Neill. "The only business this site does is as a loophole exploitation around existing statutes.

Alongi claims his site is safe, saying, "I created BetAgainstMe.com as a safe way to get your gambling fix without losing your house, your family and your dignity."

But O'Neill says a recent study at Harvard answered definitively that Internet gambling does not live up to stereotypes of mad spending by quickly addicted players, instead finding that online gaming draws mild play, with a lower level of problem gambling than land operations.

"Besides, even if Alongi's point were correct, his site would then be the same as a gateway drug, introducing people to this horrible addiction one step at a time. The truth is that Alongi will cry against online gambling as long as his wallet is involved, " says O'Neill.