Indiana Legislature considers ban on Internet gambling

Friday, Jan. 10, 2003 | 11:28 a.m.

SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

INDIANAPOLIS -- Web-based casinos, online gamblers and their Internet providers could all face felony charges and jail time in Indiana under a bill slated to be considered next week by a state Senate committee.

"Internet gambling is completely unregulated. It's pretty insidious," said Sen. David Ford, R-Hartford City, sponsor of the legislation. "It's a very difficult problem to get your arms around."

The Senate Economic Development and Technology Committee is scheduled to consider the bill Monday. The full Senate passed a similar measure last year, but it died in the House.

Internet gambling already is illegal in Indiana under the federal Interstate Wire Act, which prohibits using telephone lines or other wire communications to place bets, said Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter. That's also the position of the U.S. Justice Department, but a federal appeals court has ruled the Wire Act does not apply to Internet gambling.

Carter and Ford agree that the law does not give state prosecutors any tools to combat the growing industry.

"Any time the Legislature addresses a matter and declares something a crime, it becomes clearer to the public that that's the case," Carter told The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Ky., for a story published today.