Will US Gambling Legislation Really Change Soon

April 27, 2009 | News Category: Gaming Law

0 Comments Many are expecting change of the online gambling laws to come soon. The excitement and anticipation that has been built up by the bill that Barney Frank will soon be presenting has led the industry to believe that change is coming very soon. Additional excitement was generated when the Obama regime came into power, with the public being sure that they will support the new gambling bill and that things would move forward quickly. This may, however, not be the case.

Although optimism is still there, those supporting the legalizing and regulating of online gambling sites in the United States are guarded in their expectations of change. It seems that opponents of online casinos and gambling have gathered forces, and are fighting against the legalization and regulation of online casinos.

Nick Batram, an analyst at KBC Peel Hunt told the New York Times that there is more chance that some sort of gaming legislation will be approved now, but that "it took longer than expected to put anti-gaming legislation in place, and it will probably take longer than expected to remove it."

The promised bill from Barney Frank, to repeal the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act), is also not ready as early as was expected, but so far, the delays can be counted in weeks, and the bill is expected to be delivered in a matter of days. Even though Washington has realized that the revenues that can be created by regulating the online casino industry is much needed, there is still a bureaucratic process that will take time.

PricewaterhouseCoopers estimate that $50 billion in revenue could be earned within ten years if online gambling is regulated.

Christian, other religious groups and family groups are still opposing the possible legalization of online casinos, and are still claiming that Internet gambling "breaks up families" because the gambling has been brought into the home. This view has not been corroborated by the studies that have been performed in this regard.

Although it does look like legislation of some sort will be passed in the relatively near future, perhaps in the next two or three years, leaders in the online gambling world also wonder what exactly the regulations will stipulate.

As far as Barney Frank is concerned, according to a spokesperson from the House Financial Services Committee, which he chairs, Frank "supports the repeal [of the UIGEA] and wants to move forward on it."

Add a Comment

Name: * Email: (won't be published) * Website URL: Verify the image below: *

Tool Links

Mail Print     Digg Del.ici.ous