As it stands nowadays, individual states are absolve to prohibit or practice gambling within their borders while significant regulations and limits are placed on interstate which activity. Recently, online games has seen harsher restrictions. With the Unlawful Web Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIEGA), it was not explicitly banned but rather it had been online financial transactions which were outlawed. BATMAN 138 This meant that all online financial dealings from gambling service providers were now illegal which led to countless offshore gambling operators excluding US clients from their services.
Existing in this legal grey area, it is no longer a issue of if online gambling will enter in the US market but when as well as perhaps how. As recently as this month, three says have got legalized online gambling and intend to begin offering bets by the finish of this year. Naturally, a gaming firm in Las Vegas known as Ultimate Gaming was the first ever to offer online poker but for now restricting it to just players in Nevada. New Jersey and Delaware have also legalized online gambling and so far ten other states are thinking about legalizing it in some form or another.
Frank Fahrenkopf, president of the American Game playing Association has mentioned that “Unless there is a federal bill passed, we are going to have the best expansion of legalized gambling in the usa. I don’t think that’s what anyone intended, but it is what we’re seeing.” This poses a lot of questions and of course concerns for many existing commercial casinos in addition to American policy makers. Will legitimate online gambling mean fewer persons in brick and mortar casinos? Will this develop a new source of revenue at the state and national level? Think about taxes and regulations? An increase in gamblers?
Many people including Arnie Wexler, ex – chairman of New Jersey’s Council On Compulsive Gambling offers voiced concern that with all the current good this could do to generate income and revenue for personal states there may be problems with an increase in compulsive gambling. There is particular concern regarding social media in the US as some areas like Zynga have previously begun taking real-money bets.
Taking in mind the questions and concerns, many hotel casinos are already making programs to expand into online gambling to complement their actual casinos. Geoffrey Stewart, general supervisor of Caesars Online Poker has said “Like any business, you’re always searching for what is another distribution channel.”
