The new film Runner Runner sparked a lobby group to push for the legalisation of online gambling. Source: AAP
THE new thriller Runner Runner, starring Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck, had not even opened in the US before it became the centre of the fight over online gambling regulation.
The American Gambling Association (AGA) has bought advertisements on major websites, including Twitter, Facebook and the IMDb movie database, framing the film as a "cautionary tale" that points to the need for the US congress to legalise online poker. The ads also pop up when people Google the movie's title.
The screenwriters say their story of a young gambler pulled into the criminal dealings of an offshore poker site was never intended as a political parable. The movie opened in US and Australian cinemas on Thursday.
The Stop Predatory Gambling Foundation, a national nonprofit organisation, sent a letter to the casino lobby on Thursday pointing to the writers' comments, and calling the ads dishonest. The group is demanding that the ads - one of which warns, "Sometimes movie villains are real" - be taken down.
National director Les Bernal wrote there was no reason to think shady offshore operations would disappear if online gambling was legalised in the US and accused the casino lobby of wanting a cut of the illegal operators' business.
"Casino operators now hope to expand another key demographic to their base: young people, especially those of college age, which is why the AGA greedily seized upon Runner, Runner," Bernal wrote.
Internet poker, never fully legal, has been strictly outlawed in the US since 2011, when the Department of Justice seized the domain names of the largest offshore sites catering to US customers and blacked them out.
This crackdown, dubbed "black Friday", left poker fanatics with two options: get dressed and visit a card room, or break the law and log into an offshore site.
Offshore gambling sites took in about $US2.6 billion ($A2.78 billion) from US players last year, according to Geoff Freeman, president of the association.
More recently, the US federal government softened its stance on internet betting, and three states - New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada - legalised some form of online wagering within their borders.
The gambling lobby, which counts MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment among its members, supports a federal approach. It warns that a patchwork of state laws will be unworkable for corporations and could leave gamblers exposed to dishonest dealings.
Runner Runner, released by 20th Century Fox, tells the story of a Princeton University graduate student, played by Timberlake, who believes he's been cheated after gambling away his tuition money. He travels to Costa Rica to confront an online poker tycoon, played by Affleck, who then offers him a job.
Writers David Levien and Brian Koppelman, who also created the 1998 gambling film Rounders, told Reuters that they were surprised and amused by the casino lobby's campaign.
Early reviews of Runner Runner have been mostly negative.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Gambling film runs into controversy
Dengan url
http://cucidollaran.blogspot.com/2013/10/gambling-film-runs-into-controversy.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Gambling film runs into controversy
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Gambling film runs into controversy
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar