In the wake of the US Government passing legislation to prohibit online gambling, several renowned global gaming companies are speaking out about the apparent ignorance that is fueling this crackdown, which many critics also say will hardly be enforceable and 100% effective. The eCommerce Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance Body (eCOGRA) is one such recognizable voice to make a public statement addressing the recent prohibition.

eCOGRA is a non-profit online casino and gambling standards regulator offering player protection services, and has been instrumental in helping the UK government establish governmental controls to help regulate, monitor and tax online casinos and gaming sites. CEO, Andrew Beveridge, referred to the prohibition as a door-opener for exposing online gamblers to under-funded and unregulated gambling sites that will begin to fill the empty place of casino operators who are playing their cards safe and excluding gamblers from territories where legal repercussions could follow.

What is happening, however, is that U.S. politicians are quite frankly behind the times. Take, for instance, a recent interview with Senator John Frist (who spearheaded the anti-gambling legislation) on the popular American National Public Radio show, On Point, in which Frist consistently referred to the National Impact Gaming Study, which concluded that online gambling is a dangerous industry that should be prohibited. However, the National Impact Gaming Study was conducted in 1997, which was before industry regulation and the current technology protecting minors was even in place. In other words, the initial surge to ban online gambling is still founded on the same arguments when it began nearly 10 years ago. This is precisely why most critics say the real truth of the matter is that the religious right wing is being appeased by conservative Republicans who make up the Senate majority.

Regulation bodies like eCOGRA, however, have been working hand-in-hand with major governments such as the United Kingdom, to put in place the technology that can and does prevent underage and problem gambling, as well as insure online casino software is governed by Random Number Generators which infallibly provide fair odds and acceptable payout percentages. The proof that successful and effective regulation of the online gambling industry exists, however, the majority of U.S. politicians either are ignorant of it, or simply choose to not recognize it because their true cause is a religious conviction that seeks to ban the industry at all costs - Just as it seeks to religiously convert the heathens and sinners, even if that means making war.