Not only has the Internet brought gambling into the home, it has made it anonymous and readily available to virtually anyone at any time and at any place. As a result, the popularity of Internet gambling has skyrocketed over the past few years. Since the first virtual online casino started up in 1995, the industry has grown to over 450 gambling websites. In 1997, Internet gambling produced at least $200 million in business. Conservative estimates conclude that online gambling will bring in at least $3 billion of annual revenue by 2002. Gambling over the Internet can be performed in most traditional manners. "Virtual" casinos and sports books, however, continue to lead the online gambling industry.

A typical on-line gambling experience is as quick and easy as turning on your computer and going to your favourite gambling Web site. Gamblers first click on a link that takes them to an "account-opening" page where they can access their account and/or deposit more money. Once the account is opened, funds can be deposited by using a credit card, certified check, money order, or through a wire transfer. When the account has funds, gamblers are ready to play.

Video gambling, because of its instant feedback mechanism, is known to addict gamblers faster than other forms of gambling; hence, sociologists and psychiatrists widely refer to it as the 'crack-cocaine of gambling addiction.

Legal prohibitions are pointless if they cannot be enforced. In the case of online gambling it appears that both practical and legal barriers will cause significant difficulty for law enforcement.

The IGPA was initially introduced into Congress in 1997 but never successfully passed through Congress. In 2000, Senator Kyl reintroduced the bill with some significant changes. The new version is quite lengthy and complicated and cannot be examined in depth in this paper. Specifically, the bill states: "it shall be unlawful for a person engaged in a gambling business to use the Internet or any other interactive computer service to place, receive, or otherwise make a bet or wager." Essentially, this bill would outlaw most Internet gambling except for fantasy sports, state lotteries, and betting on activities such as dog racing and horse racing.

The inherent nature of online gambling leads to questions of how gambling on the Web can be properly investigated to prevent the potential for fraud. Without regulation, online gamblers have no way of being sure whether the games are operated fairly. "There's just no way to tell if virtual dice, roulette or cards are rolled, spun or dealt randomly...or whether they're responding to a sequence...to cheat customers."

Other opportunities for fraud on gambling sites include abuse of credit card information and failing to pay out any winnings the bettor may accumulate. A typical online casino requires the user to submit credit card information before participating in any of the games. Once this information is transferred it is in the hands of the online company and subject to potential abuse. Furthermore, the payment of winnings has been subject to fraud in the past. When too many gamblers win, online operators have simply shut down their web sites, without paying off the winnings, and moved to a new online gambling site. With the difficulties in identifying and locating site operators, gamblers may be left with no recourse.

While Internet gambling popularity continues to grow, so do the concerns surrounding the business. Questions concerning the legality, potential dangers and moral issues have made this industry a controversial topic. In this paper I will first briefly examine the social/political concerns about online gambling. I will then discuss the two main legal approaches that Canada could take in dealing with online gambling and the issues involved in these approaches.

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Approximate Word count = 2744
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)