After a lobbyist-induced hiatus, it is interesting to note the various Internet gaming bills recently re-introduced in Congress, which aim to end Internet gaming by redefining what it means to gamble and/or attacking the financial elements necessary to place and collect upon a bet on-line.
The fascinating wrinkle to watch as this battle ensues is the involvement of countries like Antigua. As Reuters reports, Antigua is challenging the United States, in world bodies like the World Trade Organization, over the US' willingness to regulate and criminalize activity that is lawfully conducted, at least in some measure, outside of the United States. In the case of Antigua, this means their various Internet gaming websites, which are based in Antigua but accept bets generated from the United States.
This is a conflict worth following. While the United States can and does enact laws that have effect outside the United States, the reaction of foreign states suggests the ultimate challenge of regulation in cyberspace. Gambling, which invokes social and financial concerns, is a major industry for a small country like Antigua, and yet the arguable social harm of the activity is located in large measure in the United States, among other places where Internet gaming is popular. Where should the line be drawn between these competing concerns? How does United States' legislative interests impact the financial activity of other nations linked to it by the Internet? It will be interesting to see how these issues continue to be addressed and resolved, especially through the prism of the continually growing US presence in Internet gambling.
I am thinking through this question myself; more on this in future posts.