Tom W. Bell

Tom W. Bell is an assistant professor at Chapman University Law School and an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute, a free-market think tank in Washington, D.C. The following viewpoint is adapted from testimony that Bell gave before the National Gambling Impact Study Commission, a federal panel charged with assessing the effects of legalized gambling. In it, Bell asserts that the spread of Internet gambling is inevitable. Even if the U.S. government bans Internet gambling, he points out, gamblers will be able to access gambling websites based in other countries. Fortunately, Bell concludes, Internet gambling is not as dangerous as opponents have claimed.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What three benefits does Bell claim Internet gambling offers?
2. What analogy does the author use to illustrate why a...