As it stands today, individual states are free to prohibit or practice gambling within their borders while significant regulations and limits are placed on interstate which activity. Recently, online video gaming has seen harsher restrictions. With the Unlawful Web Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIEGA), it had been not explicitly banned but instead it was online financial transactions that were outlawed. This meant that all online financial transactions from gambling providers were now illegal which resulted in numerous offshore gambling operators excluding US clients from their services.
Existing in this legal grey area, it is no more a issue of if online gambling will enter the US market but when as well as perhaps how. As lately as this month, three claims own legalized online gambling and plan to begin offering bets by the end of this year. Naturally, a gaming firm in Las Vegas referred to as Ultimate Gaming was the first ever to offer online poker but for now restricting it to just players in Nevada. bc.game alternative brazil 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 Video gaming Association has explained that “Unless there exists a federal bill passed, we are going to have the best expansion of legalized gambling in the usa. I don’t believe that’s what anyone intended, but it is what we’re seeing.” This poses lots of questions and of course concerns for many existing commercial casinos as well as American policy makers. Will legal online gambling mean fewer men and women in offline casinos? Will this develop a new way to obtain revenue at the state and national level? What about taxes and regulations? A rise in gamblers?
Lots of people including Arnie Wexler, past chairman of New Jersey’s Council On Compulsive Gambling offers voiced concern that with all the current good this could do to create income and revenue for particular states there could be problems with an increase in compulsive gambling. There is particular concern regarding social media marketing in america as some spots like Zynga have previously begun taking real-money bets.
Taking in mind the questions and concerns, many resort casinos are already making plans to grow into online gambling to complement their physical casinos. Geoffrey Stewart, general supervisor of Caesars INTERNET POKER has said “Like any other business, you’re always looking for what is the next distribution channel.”