Washington, DC – Eli Lehrer, a senior fellow at The Heartland Institute and national director of Heartland’s Center on Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate, today praised Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) for circulating a bill that would sweep away burdensome regulations intended to prohibit online poker playing. The bill’s existence was first reported in The Wall Street Journal.
“This isn’t about gambling. It’s about freedom,” Lehrer said. “The efforts to restrict online gambling have already imposed enormous costs on a financial transaction system that simply can’t afford them.”
Lehrer, however, added that the bill Reid is promoting should go further.
“There was a legitimate debate about the wisdom of gambling, but it has ended,” Lehrer said. “Moneymaking gambling is legal in 48 states and the District of Columbia. Private card games involving money are legal everywhere. Since gambling is a legal economic activity, the relevant questions are about how to regulate it. Legalizing online poker is a start, but the entire regime intended to stop online gambling is silly and destructive.”
Lehrer can be reached at 202/615-0586 or [email protected]. The Heartland Institute is a 26-year-old national nonprofit organization based in Chicago. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our Web site at www.heartland.org or call 312/377-4000.
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Jim Lakely is the Vice President and Director of Communications of The Heartland Institute.
