This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.
Congress has voted to ban most financial exchanges that involve gambling on
the Internet by people in the United States. The measure threatens to cut the
business of several foreign companies.
Almost every American state has
lottery games. Casinos, often operated by Native American tribes, are also
common. And a number of states permit other forms of gambling, such as placing
money on horse races.
Some forms of electronic gambling based in established centers, like a
casino, are legal under federal, state or local laws. But gambling for money on
the Internet is in most cases illegal in the United States.
The new legislation led to a big drop in the value of shares in PartyGaming
and some other Internet gambling companies. PartyGaming of Britain is the
largest online gambling company based on stock value. Almost 80 percent of
the money it earns comes from the United States.
Congress passed the act as part of an unrelated bill on port security.
President Bush is expected to sign the bill soon.
The Internet gambling act would ban the processing of electronic payments
from the United States for online gambling purposes. It would affect credit card
companies, banks and other businesses.
Researchers at Christiansen Capital Advisors estimate that Internet gambling
worldwide reached 12,000 million dollars last year. They estimate that
almost 23 million people gambled online, including about eight million in
the United States.
Internet gambling is a fast-growing industry. The American Gaming Association
says the number of gambling Web sites is estimated at well over 2,000. These
offer sports betting, casino games and other activities.
Representative Jim Leach of Iowa proposed the new legislation. He says many
American families have been affected by large losses from Internet gambling. He
says it is also a national security concern because it can be used to finance
criminal and terrorist activities.
Some countries, however, see the act as a way to keep foreign companies out
of the American gambling market. In 2003, the Caribbean nation of Antigua and
Barbuda brought a dispute to the World Trade Organization. Antigua said American
restrictions on Internet gambling went against W.T.O. rules on free trade. At
first the W.T.O. took the side of Antigua, but the issue has not yet reached a
final settlement.
And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter.
I'm Steve
Ember.
（來源：VOA
英語點(diǎn)津姍姍編輯）
