Internet gambling ban advances in South Dakota

The Senate State Affairs Committee approved a bill 7-2 that would single out Internet gambling businesses as illegal activities and provide penalties for violators.

Rep. Roger Hunt, R-Brandon, sponsor of HB1110, said the bill would help ensure that Internet betting operations are not started in South Dakota.

If people can gamble in the comfort of their homes, using credit cards to make bets, it will cause all sorts of problems, he said.

"It's going to open up greater and greater stresses on our families," Hunt said. "It's going to open up greater indebtedness."

Internet gambling is growing by leaps and bounds, Hunt said. Steps should be taken now to keep it from gaining a toehold in South Dakota, he said.

"We don't need those type of businesses in the state," Hunt said.

But Sen. Fred Whiting, R-Rapid City, questioned if Hunt's bill would do much good.

"Is this serious legislation, or is it just another morality message?" Whiting asked. "Are we really doing anything?

"It just galls me to see the state Legislature being used to make morality statements that have little or no impact on our citizens."

If the intent is to keep South Dakotans from gambling on the Internet, the bill should be aimed at gamblers and not gambling businesses, Whiting argued.

"You're attacking the wrong end of the problem," he told Hunt. "You can't control what you're trying to control."

Passing a law barring Internet businesses from setting up within the state would prevent many South Dakotans from gambling online, said Nathan Schock, lobbyist for the Family Policy Council.

"People are less likely to participate in an activity that they see to be illegal," he said.

Charlie McGuigan, assistant attorney general, said the current penalty for operating an Internet gambling venture is a month in jail and a $200 fine. The bill would increase the penalty to two years in prison and a $2,000 fine; subsequent convictions could bring up to five years behind bars and a $5,000 fine.

"It gives us another tool to address illegal gambling in South Dakota," said McGuigan, testifying for the bill.

None of the 473 existing Internet gambling sites are in the United States, McGuigan said.

The legislation, which cleared the House last week, goes now to the full Senate.

archive