David Carruthers - Online Gambling Regulation Advocacy

Online Gambling Regulation Advocacy

Carruthers is a noted and vocal advocate of online gambling regulation. He has frequently engaged in public debate with opponents of online gaming (particularly in the United States), and has argued vociferously for government oversight and taxation of the industry. He has lobbied for regulation on the basis that would help to protect against gambling abuse and underage gambling as well has provide much needed tax revenue to the US government, he sought support from the government in finding ways to protect consumers. Carruthers publicly called for transparency among his industry peers and suggested that a good starting point for operators was a public offering of shares.

Carruthers has accepted numerous speaking engagements in which he has lectured on the benefits of regulation. He has also written magazine articles, newspaper op-eds and a white paper on the topic. But the cornerstone of his lobbying efforts was a grass-roots campaign encouraging American consumers to voice their disapproval of prohibition efforts.

Representative of his arguments for regulation is a 2006 Baltimore Sun article by Carruthers:

"Here is the secret that these politicians don't want the public to know about our industry: We want to be regulated. We want to be taxed. We want to be licensed. Instead of dealing with us constructively to address issues of mutual concern, these legislators prefer to pretend that they can control the Internet.

"Instead of protecting the public, they would rather waste time on public posturing to their partisan base, and they would rather waste tax dollars on empty legislative exercises instead of taking ethical actions that would increase revenues to cities, states and the federal government from the taxes we would pay."

In 2004, when leading Internet portals Google and Yahoo! announced they would stop carrying adverts for online casinos, blaming a "lack of clarity" in US regulations, Carruthers told the New York Times:

"I urge these search engines and other service providers to stand up for themselves and challenge these pressure tactics by federal prosecutors."

Carruthers explained to the Wall Street Journal in an August 2, 2004 article: "What happened with alcohol was a disaster," he said. "Nobody wants this business, which is flourishing offshore, being pushed back onto the streets and the back alleys of the U.S." He also argues that "there's a huge missed opportunity here" for the US government to collect revenue.

On April 4, 2006 Carruthers debated Rep. James A. Leach (R-Iowa), on the merits of Rep. Leach's Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (H.R. 4411, part of which became part of the Safe Port Act). In response to Rep. Leach's rhetoric, Carruthers presented the case for the regulation of the online gambling industry in the United States.