Even Money Bets on United States Online Gambling Future

February 08, 2009 | News Category: Gaming Law

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There has been much speculation in the press as to whether the Obama administration and the new Congress will change the law that the Bush administration managed to push through with just enough time to come into effect about a day before leaving office as the United States president.

It is still unclear whether President Obama and his administration will take the necessary steps to legalize and also regulate Internet gambling. There is a general feeling that those on Capitol Hill will regard Internet casinos in a kinder light than they have in the past administration. However, now that the new administration is spending much of its time concentrating on the global recession and its local impact, there is much concern that the needed changes for online casino legislation will be given a low priority.

As with any issue that has two sides to it, there will always be a bookmaker who is willing to offer odds on the outcome. So, too, with the question regarding when the UIGEA's (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) prohibitions on internet gambling in the US will be overturned.

The well known United Kingdom bookmaker William Hill has let the gambling world know that they will be accepting bets on whether the Obama administration will legalize Internet casino gambling during the current term. More significantly, William Hill is offering even odds on the proposition, proof that it is, as they say, a "toss up" whether US citizens will be allowed to legally game online in the coming four years.

While the US could benefit financially in these uncertain economic times by legalizing Internet gambling, and being able to regulate and tax online casinos, it seems that opponents of legalization are just as unquestioningly vehement about Internet casinos today as they were before the new era dawned over Washington, D.C.

Those in support of abolishing the UIGEA have numerous arguments to bolster their position. These arguments include, apart from the aforementioned increase in tax revenues, that children, problem gamblers, and all other consumers will be provided with better protection should legalization bring with it a reasonable amount of responsible regulation. Also, by incorporating the current off-shore financial transactions into the already well-monitored US banking system, there would be less worry that Internet casinos in the US would be fronts for money laundering operations.

Besides the local dimension, US trade partners will be able, if legalization goes through, to ease their worries about United States protectionism.

Not only does the online gambling world hope that those who bet with William Hill on legalization win, but that in the resulting climate all gamers will win.