Online gambling debate: Update

The two main take-aways on this week's New York Times look at the debate in Congress on Net gambling were: 1) "the odds of a bill's becoming law this year appear long, and 2) "nearly everyone agrees that online betting may be unstoppable because of the reach of the Internet and the difficulty in regulating its activity." Online gambling is legal in some 80 countries, the Times adds. One of them, the UK, is hosting an international symposium this fall on taxing and regulating gambling on the Internet. [For some data and other info on youth gambling, see "Poker's rise: Fresh numbers," "No. of young gamblers on the rise," and "Understanding Games & Gaming."]