Virgin Records founder Richard Branson has teamed with Microsoft in a bid to take over Britain's national lottery and sell tickets in stores, over the Internet and through mobile phones. When you talk about Virgin and Microsoft getting in, this becomes hard to ignore. Nevada law bans online wagering. But regulators have decided they cannot ignore the Internet. And we should understand it.
Federal law is murky.
The 1961 Wire Act makes it illegal to use phone lines for sports bets, but it's silent on other forms of gambling. And new technology, such as satellite transmissions and radio waves, could replace phone lines. But despite that first-ever conviction in an Internet gambling case, opponents of online betting say federal law should be updated to keep pace with new technology. Experts, however, argue that the bill in Congress will do little to curb online betting. The legislation would make it illegal to take bets online but doesn't list penalties for individual gamblers.