[IndyFish]

Members of the Judiciary Committee,

I am very pleased that you are addressing the issue of Internet Gaming this coming Wednesday.

The UIGEA is a very flawed piece of legislation for several reasons:
It leaves enforcement to the banking system, without even defining "Unlawful Internet Gambling"--thus leaving individual banks to decide what is or is not legal. If the Federal Government is unable to make this distinction, I doubt my local bank will have much success either.
It blatantly ignores a treaty we signed within the WTO, which seems certain to cost us tens of billions of dollars per year, if not hundreds of billions. This, to me, sounds more like something you would expect from China than the US.
It exempts certain forms of gambling--specifically horse races, lotteries, and fantasy sports leagues--while pushing all other forms of gaming underground. This is hypocritical, to say the least. How is one form of gambling more "moral" than another?
Because the UIGEA was passed, the publicly traded companies--licensed and regulated in their own countries--were replaced by private companies with less transparency. History has proven prohibition to be ineffective. A poorer product at a higher cost is sure to result.

There are better ways to handle the current situation. If the Government must get involved in affairs between consenting adults in their own homes, at least have the courtesy to allow the citizens of this Nation to make our own decisions. Regulate, tax, and provide age verification, help to problem gamblers, and whatever other protections you feel are necessary, but please don't protect me from myself.

Sincerely,

*IndyFish*