Craig Miller decided on a topic for his Sanford School of Public Policy honors
thesis while interning for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in
Washington, D.C., in 2009.
"I covered a hearing on Barney
Frank's [Internet gambling] legalization bill for the FDIC, and I found the
whole debate to be really fascinating," said Miller, who graduates this
week.
For his thesis, Miller conducted an
extended policy analysis comparing current laws that prohibit Internet gambling
to U.S. Rep. Frank's proposed laws that would legalize and regulate Internet
gambling.
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Act
of 2006 -- the existing law and Miller's status quo alternative -- aims to
prohibit Internet gambling by making it illegal for financial institutions to
transmit payments to and from gambling site operators. Miller said this law is
"barely enforced" and U.S. players spend billions on Internet
gambling each year.
Legalization measures proposed
under the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act
-- and its companion bill, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement
Act of 2010 -- would legalize Internet gambling and allow the U.S. Treasury
Department to regulate and tax the industry.
Miller's analysis judged the
prohibition and legalization alternatives against a set of six criteria: youth
gambling, problem gambling, defraudment by site operators, money laundering
susceptibility, tax revenue and effects on existing forms of gambling.
Miller found that, relative to the
prohibition status quo, legalization would probably lead to slight increases in
rates of youth and problem gambling, while money laundering susceptibility and
existing forms of gambling would likely remain unaffected. Legalization also
was predicted to better protect gamblers from being defrauded and generate more
than $10 billion in new tax revenue over the next 10 years.
Miller recommended adoption of
legalization measures, because tax revenues and benefits to consumers would
greatly outweigh the costs to society of the slight increases to youth and
problem gambling rates.
Following graduation, Miller hopes
to work on Capitol Hill as a congressional staffer for a few years before
pursuing graduate degrees in law and public policy.