Almost 10 million people in the US participate in online gambling. This includes sports betting, casinos, and virtual poker. This has increased in popularity in recent years.
The Annenberg Public Policy Center tracked young people’s gambling habits. They found that more than 1.7 million male youth gambled for money at least once a month on the Internet. This represents a dramatic increase in popularity. They also found that more than 530,000 high school-aged male students visited gambling sites every month.
Teens report gambling for fun, excitement, and relief from boredom. However, it has also been reported that teenagers can become addicted to gambling. In addition, losses can lead to depression, and teens may sell possessions to pay off debts. This can have a serious impact on self-esteem and self-image.
The federal government has been attempting to enforce federal gambling laws. These attempts have been challenged on both constitutional and procedural grounds. The First Amendment guarantees free speech, but due process arguments are undermined when financial transactions are involved. The Commerce Clause provides limited protection against the crime of facilitating speech.
The Commerce Clause, while a powerful tool for federal regulation, also has limitations. The Commerce Clause provides the power to regulate commerce between states, but it does not give the government the power to prevent commerce between states that is prohibited by the law. In other words, the Commerce Clause does not prevent the states from preventing gambling that is legal in other states.