Betting is Constitutionally protected?

Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share (MPSIMS)
#1

Did anybody else see the commercials that were running during todays college football games?

Cue patriotic music. Show rippling American flag in background.

Earnest Spokesman: “Americans have more frredoms than any other people on earth. But politicians are trying to take away your freedom…
…to gamble.
Call the number below. Protect your right to gamble.”

:confused:
Now, I know the Constitution protects my right to gambol, and I’m sure somewhere we have the right to Bryan Gumbel. But exactly where does it say that my right “to put $5 on the hard ways, $2 Yo, press the 9” shall not be infringed?
:smiley:

#2

The constitution doesn’t tell you everything you can do, but puts restrictions on your basic freedoms. Telling adults that they can not wager thier money on games of chance sounds un-constitutional to me.

#3

  1. I am a gambler. I hit Atlantic City enough to get comped rooms, shows, and food regularly.

  2. There is no federal constitutional right to gamble.

  3. I mention point (1) before point (2) to advise the reader that my bias, if any, is in favor of legalized gambling.

  4. The fact that most states do not permit unfettered gambling should suggest the truth of point (2).

  5. You wouldn’t care to point at the precise section of the federal constitution you feel gambling restrictions violate, x-ray vision, would you?

#4

Silenus, was there a tag-line along the lines of “paid for by citizens against Prop XXXX” ? I’d like to find out precisely what law is being proposed to restrict what these people feel is their constitutional right to gamble.

#5

I believe it’s this group running the ads:

http://www.profreedom.com/

The bill in question is H.R. 21/S. 627-The Unlawful Internet Gambling Prohibition Act. As far as I can tell, the law would make illegal funds transfers that result from gambling that’s illegal in either the state where the person is initiating the bet, or the state where the bet is places. So, if my state has laws against betting on football games, it would be illegal for me to place a bet on a football game with an internet website.

#6

I live in Las Vegas.

I don’t believe there is anything in the Constitution that allows it, but you can sure as hell bet there is a law allowing gaming (we don’t like to use that word “gamble” here) in the Nevada State laws…and many other states are starting to allow it as well.

BTW…there is no state lottery in Nevada. That is still against the law…go figure.

Also, in Nevada, you are not legally allowed to place bets on high school sports, Olympic sports and the Oscars, among other things.