Online Gambling: Offenders Trying to Roll “7′s” in a Binary World http://www.corrections.com/news/article/28375-online-gambling-offenders-trying-to-roll-7-s-in-a-binary-world[04/13/2011 4:59:27 PM] Article Tools Sign in to Email a Friend | Print This Page | Comments(0) | Suggest a Story Online Gambling: Offenders Trying to Roll “7′s” in a Binary World By Art Bowker, Cybercrime Specialist Published: 04/11/2011 Legalizing gambling is a topic that seems to ebb and flow with the times. In the not too distant past legal casino gambling in the United States was limited to Las Vegas and later Atlantic City. We then saw some growth with American Indian gaming. Additionally states, most recently Ohio, amended statutes to allow casinos within certain jurisdictional areas. Within the last few months online gambling legalization was suggested as a possible method to generate needed tax revenue. Why should community corrections officers be concerned about gambling issues, including the online variety? If it is legal what is the big deal? Let me “ante” into the pot to get this discussion going! Internet gambling has nearly doubled every year since 1997 – in 2001 it exceed $2 billion . A simple Google search for the term “online gambling sites”, generates over 6,00,000 results. Currently, in the United States it is illegal to: 1. Place cyberbets on sporting events or in virtual card games; 2. Transfer money electronically for gambling; and 3. Place wagers in offshore Internet casinos, even if one lives in the U.S. Okay, Einstein, it is all over the Internet but it is currently illegal in the states. So what? That may change and even if it doesn’t offenders can go to casinos and legally gamble (provided it is not prohibited by their supervision conditions). Why should I worry about? Time to” raise” the bet as it were. Consider these articles: “ Lahn and Grabosky (2003) found that 34.3% of correctional survey participants had some form of gambling problem. The most serious current offenses for these problem gamblers were property crime (37.1%), violent crimes (28.6%) and traffic offenses such as drunk driving (17.1%). Additionally, 25.7% of problem gamblers disclosed that their gambling had contributed to their criminal behavior. Finally, 45.7% of problem gamblers 03/07/2011 The Routine Activity Theory Applied to Corrections: Why We Need Quality Rounds 03/07/2011 Can America Continue to Operate Its Prisons 03/07/2011 Avoid the 10 Qualities of the Anti-leader 03/07/2011 Practical Perspectives: Are You at Your Tipping Point? Police Training - 2011 Find Police Training Programs Online or Near You - Apply Now! C C /P li MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search IN CASE YOU MISSED IT >Users: login | register > email > weather > people CorrectSource (Marketplace) | Resources | News | Topics | Careers | Forums | Events | April 13, 2011 >> search products