Longtime gambling opponent Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., warned a congressional subcommittee Friday that legalizing online poker “would be like having a casino at your fingertips 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”
The committee was considering whether to weaken a 2006 law that banned Internet gambling as a way to tap into new revenue from taxing the industry at a time when reducing the deficit is on everyone’s mind. Wolf insisted that was a poor choice, and particularly put his Republican colleagues on the spot.
“For a party that champions families and traditional values, I assure you that Internet gambling is contrary to family values,” he said.
Wolf cited a New York Times article that reported there is a significant social cost of gambling that far outpaces any money collected by the IRS.
With current technology that allows anyone to access the Internet from their palm, Wolf said there would be no impediments to keep people from gambling from their homes all day long.
“People would be able to gamble in their bathrobes, in their family rooms, at work or in college dorm rooms,” Wolf said.
