Libertarian ping! To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here.
Posted on 03/15/2007 1:04:39 PM PDT by kms61
The Financial Times online edition (subscription required for full article) has noted from an interview that Barney Frank, the democratic House Financial Services Committee chairman, is working on legislation to repeal the ban on online gambling in the US that was passed last year. "Working on" is hard to define without more information
It is not clear at all if this is a "total repeal" or just a loosening of the laws. It is also a question as to whether or not this legislation could even make it to the White House through Congressional votes, and it is unclear of this would be for 2008 and beyond or if it was sooner. But either way, you have to look no further than Cryptologic (CRYP) to see how this could impact other stocks in the sector (they make online gaming software) if there is any truth to this. CRYP has even managed to defy a weak market if you look at the shares.
In Australia, companies like Betcorp and Lasseters Corp were hit hard last year because of the ban. In the UK, companies like PartyGaming Plc and 888 Holdings were also hit in 2006 over such issues. Gigamedia (GIGM) and American Wagering (BETM) were also noted in a story late yesterday along with pari-mutuel horseracing company Youbet.com (UBET). We have all missed the PartyPoker commercials as well.
Once again, take heed that "an interview" and "legislation" can be taken way out of context and there is always the possibility that this could be dead before it even gets started. My own call in so far has partially confirmed this, but with no details yet known. Many of the European online gaming stocks also made some rather large moves last week because of some loosening of regulations in the EU. There is not even assurance that it will make it to the form of a bill, so if you take any of this as "gospel" or as "fact" then the point has not been stressed enough that there may be no follow-through in reality.
I did put in a phone call to Congressman Frank's office and was told that this is true, but I have not been able to get the details from the Financial Services Committee as of yet. I am awaiting a call back to give more details.
Jon C. Ogg March 14, 2007
Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.
Well, if liertarianism were the norm, we WOULDN'T HAVE WELFARE! This whole "society" argument is completely Hillaryesque.
I recall you being anti-gambling, so this might5 be an interesting thread for you to participate in. Be forewarned, though, that a certain anti-libertarian poster has convinced me to have a "Jeff gets wasted and argues on FR" night, so apologies in advance if I'm more of a bastard than usual.
LOL, good luck with that. I know nothing about college basketball myself. My college made it into the tournament, but I think they suck, so I'm not betting, even if I could.
Who are you supporting for the GOP nomination in '08? I've observed that the socially conservative and libertarian (not necessarily exclusive terms) freepers have lined up behind Hunter and Thompson and against Rudy and McCain.
Please don't confuse small-l libertarian philosiphy with the Libertarian Party. Those morons have succeded in re-defining the meaning of the word.
The conversation in which I placed the bet was totally amusing. It went something like this...
"Hey, Joe, it's Jeff"
"Jeff....Jeff who?"
"Jeff XXXXXXX, man. The guy who calls you about 5 times a week during football season."
"Oh, Jeff, I'm sorry, what's up?"
"I need to put in a bet on Villanova for tonight."
"You're not a basketball fan"
"I know, but have you ever had a situation where you needed to place a bet, just on the principle of betting in general?"
"No."
"Well, don't worry about it. Just put me down for Villanova."
"Why do you feel so strongly about Villanova?"
"I don't. I just need to put a bet on anyone right now, and I have a friend whose last name is Villanova, so I figure they're as good as anyone to bet on."
"OK. Whatever."
ROTFLOL
Libertarian ping! To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here.
Frankly, I would vote for Hillary to be President before I voted for you. When the leftists claim that the GOP is full of Christian Taliban types, they can point to people like you.
Here's the difference: The stock market, as represented by the S&P 500, has a positive expected return. That is, over time, you can expect about a 10% annual return (albeit with wild volatility).
In casino games your expected return is negative. In sports gambling, the combined bets by gamblers results in a negative expectation due to the vig, but theoretically smart gamblers could consistently take money from bad gamblers, and cover the vig.
You should post for us!
Well, that's your first problem. The Constitution does not grant rights, it affirms them.
Needed to be said, and well done.
The trouble is, you don't see the difference in the two positions.
The 10th ammendment was ignored from its inseption.
"I don't believe the constitution says anything specifically about gambling."
You're correct. It doesn't. And, given those pesky amendments (9 and 10), THAT means that the government does NOT have any legitimate authority to legislate in these areas, period. Remember, the Constitution for the United States puts limits on GOVERNMENT and its authority, NOT on We, The People. It would help you immensely in life if you keep that one simple fact in mind. If you read the Founding Documents, you can't escape the conclusion that the Government has no more LEGITIMATE authority than each individual has... that is, since the Constitution is a compact made by We, the People, to grant the government authority to do certain things in our names and on our behalf, and since we cannot give up something that is NOT OURS TO GIVE, there simply cannot be any authority LEGITIMATELY granted to government to do all this evil that YOU want done to other people.
And, I suspect, you are going to say that you're a fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christian. So just WHERE does Jesus tell His people to get government to pass laws outlawing SIN? Please be specific. (Oh, that's right, you CAN'T. He didn't.) He told his apostles and disciples (you and me) to go forth and be examples, spreading His word. He NEVER ONCE suggested getting the government to do OUR work for us. I defy you to show me where He did. In so many words.
Good. This thing was passed in the dark of night, one of the stupidest things the Republicans ever did.
I'm not a libertarian, I'm a SoCon, and I like gambling. It's fun.
Show me where Jesus condemned the gamblers!
Internet gambling was legal until last fall.
It's you libertarian types that have ruined the Republican party. Democrats are coming back big time in 2008 if we don't purge your immoral disease from our ranks.
This is true. As everyone knows, the way to win elections is to purge large segments of voters from your ranks. Victory!
I've never gambled, on any larger scale than a weekly lottery ticket. I'm also an ardent second amendment supporter, and have never owned a gun. So I ask that you save the emotional ad hominems.
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