Gambling and Government

The U.S. Government has recently made online money transfers to and from gambling sites illegal. There are three entirely separate forces driving that: one is the moralists who believe that gambling is evil, period, second are the people concerned about the problems of gambling addiction, and finally we have states who think they are losing money that should be spent at their own gambling venues.

I think there's a way to make everyone but the most hard core moralists happy. Technology has an answer..

The basic idea is a "smart card" that is linked to your bank account. It would serve several purposes: it's the source of your gambling funds and it's your license to gamble. All gambling above some small amount would require use of this card, whether online or at a casino. The amount of money you could take from your bank and put in this card would be determined from your previous years tax return as some percentage of taxable income, and any amount put in would be immediately taxed. The tax would cover the expenses of running this program and of course be a source of revenue. I envision the Federal Government overseeing this and setting policy, while the states would issue the cards and provide enforcement.

If you win, the winnings would transfer to your card (after being taxed of course). You could transfer that back to your bank or use it for more gambling. If you lose all you have been allowed for this year, well, that's it for you until next year. The limitations help prevent serious gambling abuse by low income people, the taxes would make state governments happy, and if all gambling taxation were direct through this card, the casinos would have lessened audit and bookkeeping concerns.

Sounds good to me.

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