From Gambling to Robbing a Bank

In an effort to keep slot machines and gambling away from Maryland, the Washington Times ran an opinion piece with the following in it

The Rev. Greg Hogan flew from Ohio to Maryland to tell the story of Greg Hogan Jr., his 19-year-old son, who had won an international piano competition and was president of his sophomore class at Lehigh. One night a student came into his room and claimed he won $120,000 by Internet gambling.

Within minutes, he posted a link on Greg’s computer. That began Greg’s gambling through the $8,000 he came to college with. He began borrowing from friends, but could never pay them back. As he told “Good Morning America,” “I felt pressure to come up with the funds.”

So he robbed a bank! “I thought if I could pay off my debts, I would stop gambling forever. However, if I had more money, my addiction would probably not have let me stop,” he confessed to a national TV audience.

Greg was asked, “Why didn’t you ask your parents for help?” His father answered, “We learned he had a gambling addiction the summer before, and got him help. He went to Gamblers Anonymous. I didn’t realize how firm a grip addiction had on my son.”

Within hours of the robbery, he was arrested as he arrived to play cello in an orchestra. He served 22 months in prison, and is out now but with a ruined life.

While we totally understand the need for responsible gambling, is it really fare to forbid internet gambling to the entire country? Haven’t we learned enough from the financial crisis, that the government can’t be the backstop, parent and moral authority for the entire United States? When will people stop spreading fear, uncertainty and doubt and instead embrace the facts that US is a free country and people should be able to recreationly gamble over the internet if they wish?

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