WSJ Europe story about the UIGEA

[The Buzz]

Good article in the Wall Street Journal Europe about the Internet gambling/free trade debate today ...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1207...googlenews_wsj

As it happens, the U.S. ban on online betting is also impractical. At a Congressional hearing last week, the American Bankers Association explained how difficult it is to identify customers engaged in illegal Internet games. The association's Wayne Abernathy said the law makes banks "police, prosecutors, judges and executing marshals in place of real enforcement officers."

We have our differences with House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, but he may have been on to something when he introduced a bill to exempt licensed operators from the ban. Gambling is a vice, and social problems attach themselves to it. By legalizing and regulating the business, however, Washington could more effectively battle such problems as underage gambling and addiction. It would also avoid unnecessary trade tiffs with its leading commercial partners. And it would exempt cyberspace from overaggressive regulators, in America or anywhere else.

[vinism]

Wow. I'm impressed. I wasn't expecting this type of thinking from the Wall Street Journal.