Congress on Online Gambling

May 22, 2012

On the 16th of May, the 16th Annual East Coast Gaming Congress took, and online gambling was one of the major topics at this year’s event. We take a look at the discussions held at this summit and predict the implications for the online gambling industry.

The main discussion on online gaming at this years Annual East Coast Gaming Congress revolved around the currently divided situation regarding online gambling across state lines. Some state senators have whole heartedly embraced the concept of a free and open online gambling market in the USA. Whilst others remain stanchly opposed to any kind of legislation which would change the Wire Act of 1664. Let’s take a look at the viewpoint of some of the major speakers at the event.

Richard Bronson, who is the chairman of US Digital Gaming, said that congress was far too divided to pass any legislation which would effectively legalize online gambling in every household in the USA.

The State Senator for New Jersey, Ray Lesniak, said that the continuing lack of support from congress as a whole has cost New Jersey hundreds of millions of dollars in possible revenue.

Eugene Johnson of Spectrum Gaming stated that he believes that everyone is getting ready to jump on the online gambling bandwagon, and that his company has already been approached by many interested parties in the USA.

So reading between the lines, what can we deduce from this? Well, it is clear that congress is still very much divided over the issue of online gambling. However, when we consider the fact that some senators are already beginning to object to a loss in state revenue due to the current situation, and that large online gaming companies are now being approached by US based trading partners with a view to the future, we have to conclude that there is a lot going on behind the scenes that we have not seen. Most probably there is a lot of lobbying going on, and individual states are maneuvering to position themselves to reap major benefits before senators endorse this new legislation opening up online gambling in America.

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