Entertainment, Sports & the Law: Internet Gambling impact
THE IMPACT OF INTERNET GAMBLING
"What is more legal is a game of Skill rather than of Chance"
Entertainment has a wide definition. It is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight.[1] It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that has the capacity to provide amusement or enjoyment to an audience. Apart from stage plays, poetry, music, dancing and drama, Sports is one of such activities that attracts vast attention from people all over the world. Therefore, sports is a significant part of the entertainment industry.
As with most African nation, Uganda does not
have the vast resources that can be used to improve the facilities in the
country for sports but that has not dampened their passion for sports. Uganda
has embraced a number of sports such as baseball, cricket, tennis, golf,
swimming, cycling, and boxing.
When it comes to sheer popularity, football
is the king in Uganda followed closely by rugby and basketball. Their national
football team, nicknamed 'The Cranes’ have taken the Council for East and
Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) Cup a staggering 13 times as of
2021. The CECAFA Cup is the oldest of all the football tournaments in the whole
of Africa. Their national rugby team is also recognized as one of the strongest
in the region and their national basketball team, nicknamed 'The Silverbacks'
has made its debut in the FIBA Africa Championship in 2015[2].
According to a recent report, more than a
quarter of the world’s adult population today is involved in sports. Even in
the presence of geographical barriers and physical varying legal jurisdictions,
social differences like language barrier, international sports competitions
(e.g. Olympics, Fifa World cup, African cup of nations among others and the
transnational sports events still remain attended to even amid the covid-19
times from 2020. Owing to the dominance of sports affiliations all over the
world, it has become somewhat ‘a world language with many dialects.[3] Sports being a game of attention, it attract
various players including the supporters who get involved variously and this
has given rise to other sports (games) stemming from the sports itself. An
example of them is internet gambling. Let’s view it on an International
perspective.
Internet
Gambling
A growing problem involving sports gambling
is the Internet, which provides gamblers with the opportunity to place wagers
on professional and college sporting events from the privacy of their homes in
virtual anonymity. The Internet also makes betting on sports easier. Instead of
going through a bookie, all a gambler needs to place a bet are a computer,
Internet access, and a credit card. Many of these bets are placed with casinos
in off-shore locations in other countries where betting is legal. However, in
2006 a major piece of legislation greatly affected Internet gambling in the
United States. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 was
passed by Congress and signed by President
George W. Bush; it prohibits gambling sites from receiving payments from
U.S. financial institutions including credit card, check, or lending companies.
The bill has caused major gaming sites to withdraw from the U.S online gambling
market, including Partypoker.com.
The act defines a bet or wager as risking
something of value on the outcome of a contest. Fantasy leagues are defined as
legal, but they are subject to restrictions. Fantasy teams are not “based on
the current membership of an actual team,” meaning that a fantasy team cannot
be simply a current sports franchise with all of its actual players. Prizes for
fantasy league winners must also be made in advance of the contest.
From a de jure (valid in law) perspective,
such activity is clearly illegal and should be prosecuted in order to uphold
respect for existing laws. From a de facto (a situation which is accepted for
all practical purposes, but is not strictly legal or correct) perspective,
there is far too much activity for authorities to police effectively, and the
harm created by such activities is usually minimal or non existent. Most fantasy
leagues require an entry fee totaling less than $10 per week, and most office
pools, such as for the NCAA tournament or Kentucky Derby, require entry fees of
$20 or less. While these activities seem to constitute gambling in the legal
sense of the word, they do not appear to be much of a threat to either society
at large or the integrity of sports. A criticism of gambling from a legal
perspective is speculation that compulsive gamblers will commit illegal
activity and mistreat their families because of their gambling debts. In Uganda
for instance, we have seen reports of people killing one another when consumed by
their “team spirit.” Recently, a local
football player in Lamwo District, Northern Uganda, died after he was
reportedly assaulted by his teammates[4]. Gambling has led to family breakdown arising from house-heads constantly
reporting home with no food or fees for their family and children respectively
because somehow, the anticipated “chance” turned upside down. Children too have
betted their tuition expecting wins and are now seated at home. A few years
ago, 5 suspects in Rukungiri district were picked
after an alleged murder of 24-year-old Ronald Akandwanaho, over a Ugx. 1,500 bet
in a gambling brawl[5]
A criticism of gambling from a sports
perspective is the speculation that gambling will lead to the fixing of games.
Neither of these concerns appears to be valid in the context of fantasy sports
and office pools, due to the small per-person amounts that are wagered.
Furthermore, certain states — such as
Indiana, Wisconsin, New Jersey, and New York — have laws which stipulate that
gambling is legal if it involves a game of skill rather than of chance
For example, it would be legal to create a prize money pool for a chess
tournament in such states, but not legal to create a prize money pool for a
bingo tournament. One could argue, in these states, that one’s ability to
evaluate talent (players in fantasy leagues, teams or horses in office pools) is
the material factor in the game, rather than luck. There is little case
precedent in this area.
In Boardwalk Regency Corp. v. Attorney General
of New Jersey[6], the court found that the material factor in
the game of backgammon was a dice roll, not skill, and therefore gambling on
backgammon was found to be illegal. Professional sports leagues, players
associations, the NCAA, and television net- works have all benefited from the
enthusiasm over fantasy leagues and office pools Because the Internet has
spawned a boom in fantasy leagues, their legal future probably hinges on
developments in Internet gambling law. Such laws will have less effect on office
pools. While 22.9 million people participated worldwide in online office pools
for the 2007 NCAA Division I-A men’s basketball tournament, according to the
Bloomington Pantagraph, the vast majority of office pools are cash enterprises
kept within one locale. The Pantagraph also estimated that an average of 13.5
minutes are spent each day by employees looking at their NCAA tournament picks and that the 19-day tournament
costs employers an estimated $1.2 billion per year. Yet with such a loss in
productivity, only 6% of employers said they would not allow office pools in their
companies. Consequently, office pools are prosecuted only sporadically by police.
In conclusion therefore, sporting activities are paramount for any country’s social and
economic growth. where the performance of any games suggest it to be one of
skill, then it is most likely yielding to one's welfare and a bit more moral
therefore unlike games of chances which carry more economic and social risk.
However, serious regulation of sporting activities is required to ensure
harmony with a country’s economic, social and moral ends.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entertainment
accessed on 15th september 2022
[2] Lubogo Isaac
Christopher _ the Law of Sports and Entertainment in Uganda- 1st
Edn. 2021
[3] Matthew J. Mitten, “
‘Sports Law’; implications for the development of international, comparative,
And national law, And Global Dispute resolution, Research Paper No. 10-31,
2010, page 40.
[4] Accessed at Footballer
dies after being assaulted by teammates over poor defending | Monitor on 15th
september 2022
[5] Uganda:
Man Stabbed to Death Over Shs 1,500 Bet - allAfrica.com accessed on September
14th 2022
[6]457 A.2d 847 (N.J. Super. Ct. Law Div. 1982),
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