Online Casino Taxes Could Help Fund Health Care

September 22, 2009 | News Category: Gaming Law

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The main focus for Congress nowadays has been the debates surrounding health care and the tough economic situation in the United States. The Barney Frank online gambling bill has fallen by the wayside for now, and is not likely to be debated for some time yet. All this, however, may change at the suggestion of a senator from Oregon.

Ron Wyden, a US Senator from Oregon, may well have brought the Barney Frank online gambling bill back into the limelight with his suggestion he made. The suggestion is simply a very practical and useful one that would benefit both the online casino world, and the available funds for health care.

Senator Wyden suggested that if online gambling is regulated, taxes that are collected can be put towards covering the costs of the health care programs that have been proposed. According to a study done by PricewaterhouseCoopers, it is possible that the revenue that would be received from taxing online casinos could reach as much as $62 billion over a ten year time period.

The online gambling tax revenue could be used to raise the amount given as subsidies to low-income US citizens who would receive subsidies through the America's Healthy Future Act.

Although it had seemed that the Barney Frank online gambling bill was going to be left on the back burner for another few months, perhaps the Financial Services Committee could address the two bills if it were agreed that the tax revenue would help to ease other financial burdens that the government is desperately trying to address.

Michael Waxman from the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative said "We applaud Senator Wyden's proposal to collect and put to good use tens of billions in Internet gambling revenue that would otherwise be lost in the underground marketplace."

Waxman also explained that Frank's online gambling bills should be debated. He said "The Senate Finance Committee should approve the resolution, finally putting to an end a failed prohibition on Internet gambling."

At this time, without online gambling regulation, not only are US players unprotected from fraudulent online gaming websites, they also do not pay taxes on their winnings. Surely it would be better for the US government to be collecting taxes rather than simply allowing the potential revenue to slip through its fingers.

While the unstable economy is a priority for Congress at this time, surely something that could help improve the economy substantially should not be ignored. It remains to be seen whether Senator Wyden's suggestion will be taken seriously or not.