Adam Gray: Online gambling is going on, and we need protection for consumers

Re “Gray’s internet poker bill is a losing hand” (Page 3B, Aug. 24): Your editorial on AB 2863, my internet poker legislation, missed the point. Millions of Californians are engaging in gambling in various legal and illegal forms at this very moment. California is the high-tech center of the world and home to Silicon Valley, yet our antiquated gambling laws hardly even recognize the invention of the Internet.

We can continue to endure the status quo, where Internet gambling goes unregulated, untaxed and where no consumer protections exist, or we can try to bring some sense of order to the entire gambling industry in the state. If The Bee deems the current situation to be in the public’s interest, then say so. If The Bee believes gambling should be outlawed, then say that and editorialize for state and local law enforcement to be given the resources to stop it. But stop having it both ways.

It makes you sound like the politicians who promise to cut taxes but expand programs at the same time. The voters, and your readers, are not that naïve.

This story was originally published August 25, 2016 at 2:22 PM with the headline "Adam Gray: Online gambling is going on, and we need protection for consumers."