Internet gambling and the Kyl bill were subjects of ABC’s Nightline on
April 7. Ted Koppel introduced the subject by talking about Internet
gambling "increasing the level of unpaid debts in this country."
He asked "what would happen if everyone with access to the Internet
could in the convenience of their own home log onto a cyberspace
casino," and then noted, "Well, you can."
Senator Kyl had a comment, of course, saying Internet operators "don't
have to tell you what odds are, they don't have to tell you whether you
really won or lost and they don't have to pay off if you do win.
There's literally no protection."
That questionable statement aside, legislators in other
jurisdictions—far more realistic than Kyl—have turned his presumed
weaknesses into strengths, and are regulating Internet gaming by
licensing it.
Attorney Mark Grossman, on the show, suggested "American thinkers have
to open their minds a little bit from their narrow, traditional views of
the United States as the center of the world."
After Koppel drew comparisons of Internet gaming with importing cocaine, Las Vegas oddsmaker
Lefty Rosenthal responded by noting the hypocrisy of U.S. promotion of
state lotteries by encouraging you to hit the dream of your life, your
fantasy, and added, "The chances of you winning the lottery are
virtually slim or none, and slim's out of town."