This article examines the current economic characteristics of online gambling and the implications of current U.S. policies to prohibit its emergence. The author discusses online gambling's fundamental economic, political, and legal dimensions, as well as its current institutional setting. The present U.S. strategy is intended to marginalize online gambling, purportedly because of concerns about adverse social impacts. However, because of actions abroad to create legal regulatory regimes to govern online gambling, and because the Internet is becoming increasingly worldwide, U.S. attempts to prohibit online gambling are likely to be futile in the long run.
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