With the Leach bill making its way through the U.S. House, it's an opportune time to take a closer look at certain aspects of the legislation.
The bill is aimed at curtailing Internet gambling through the banking industry. It will make the use of "instruments of banking," which include wire transfers, electronic checks and credit cards, illegal for online gaming transactions.
It's fairly clear how the bill applies to traditional types of gambling, but what are the implications for games of skill. This relatively untapped segment of the Interactive gaming market seems to be teetering on falling into the category of gambling, and that's kept potential market leaders out of the game. Most notably, Walt Disney abandoned well capitalized plans to introduce a skill-games sites around two years ago.
The relative lack of attention to skill games has presumably kept the sector off U.S. policymakers' radar screens. But, could that change?
To shed some light on the issue, IGN turned to professor and recognized gambling expert I. Nelson Rose.
We asked Rose:
Does the Leach bill outlaw pay-to-play Internet-based games of skill?
I. Nelson Rose: I've had a chance to look at the Leach bill.
Games of skill would not fall under this anti-gambling bill. Only one game of skill is specifically exempted, fantasy leagues, called "a simulation sports game or an educational game or contest" which "has an outcome that reflects the relative knowledge and skill of the participants with such outcome determined predominantly by accumulated statistical results of sporting events."
However, the definition of the term "bets or wagers" in the bill makes it clear that paying money to participate in a skill game is not gambling. It is gambling if you bet "something of value upon the outcome of a contest of others."
The term "bets or wagers" also includes "the purchase of a chance or opportunity to win a lottery or other prize (which opportunity to win is predominantly subject to chance)." Since games that are predominantly chance are gambling, it follows that games that are not predominantly chance are not gambling.
Professor I. Nelson Rose is an internationally known scholar, public speaker and writer and is recognized as one of the world's leading authorities on gambling law. A 1979 graduate of Harvard Law School, he is a tenured full Professor at Whittier Law School in Costa Mesa, California, where he teaches one of the first law school classes on gaming law. Professor Rose is the author of more than 300 books, articles, book chapters and columns. He is best known for his internationally syndicated column Gambling and the Law.
What question(s) would you like to see the experts address?