Betting in cyberspace has become an extremely lucrative business. Online gambling can cause as much harm to the families and communities of addictive gamblers as if a brick-and-mortar casino were built next door. It can result in addiction, bankruptcy, divorce, crime, and moral decline just as with traditional forms of gambling.

Internet gambling is growing at an explosive rate. It gets around existing anti-gambling laws, endangers children in the home, promotes compulsive gambling among adults and preys on the poor. I have always voted in favor of bills that would prohibit gambling on the Internet and I will support H.R. 556, the Internet Gambling Funding Prohibition Act. It would prohibit gambling over the Internet without exception and put a stop to this harmful activity before it spreads further.