“Why does BetBug.com oppose Kyl's bill?”

The central legal core of American anti-Internet gambling is the 1960’s Wire Act which is quoted by the United States government when coming to discuss online gambling in the United States and state that such an act is illegal. In order to prosecute the illegal online gambling industry, government law enforcement officers have used this law as its central theme. However, as expected, private persons who gamble in this fashion have not been the ones hunted down by law makers and their officers. Instead, casino proprietors and operators are the people who have been focused on by law enforcement officials. If the Republican Senator, John Kyl of Arizona gets his way, this approach is likely to change. Targeting all Internet gamblers, rather than just operators from abroad, will be one of the aims of the Senator’s newly drafted bill. Banking services for online gambling transactions will become illegal if Kyl’s Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2005 becomes law.

Since online gambling maintains vast popularity it seems that the bill’s support will be so weak that its passing seems very unlikely. It’s mainly the religious right wing which provides the greatest opposition to gambling on the Internet in particular and to gambling at all. The chances are quite small that the religious right will foster enough support to provide the majority for the bill, although the community makes a considerable noise and has significant strength in relation to its size.

However, operators and players in the online gambling industry will be relieved when they’ll know for sure that the bill is doomed to failure. Indeed, an Internet gambling site called BetBug.com, which would effectively profit from Kyl’s bill, is averse to its passing as it knows that the entire industry would be damaged by its passing. According to BetBug.com’s Chief Executive Officer and co-founder, John O’Malia, BetBug.com is the sole company which does not run against the Wire Act because of its peculiar betting platform. This platform enables BetBug.com to let players place private bets, while the company does not perform in any manner as a bookmaker, in contrast to other gaming companies. Therefore were Kyl’s bill to pass, it would mean that those wanting to place bets over the Internet, would legally only be able to use BetBug.com company. Yet BetBug.com still is not interested in the passing of the bill and they stick to their position that it would be detrimental to the entire online gambling industry.