Will the U.S Lift the Internet Gambling Ban?
- Published 2005-08-26
- Author Pokeraddict
We have all heard about how online gambling in the United States borders on illegal. Online gambling is receiving widespread respect and is being considered more and more mainstream every day. The recent initial public offerings by Party Gaming, and Empire Poker as well as planned offerings by endless other online gambling companies has left even the financial community accepting that online gambling is here to stay. Recently Antigua won a landmark World Trade Organization ruling against the United States that the U.S. has until April 1 2006 to comply. Antigua alleged that the United States was violating trade agreements by not allowing these countries access to advertising venues as well as access to the banking system and prohibiting them from doing business in the U.S.. There is pending litigation involving Casino City . Casino City is challenging the Department of Justice's stance that advertising online poker rooms and casinos is illegal. Casino City contends that there is no case law for this stance. There is also a threat from Foxwoods Casino that they will challenge a recent ruling that banned their Playaway game on the internet. The huge poker boom and widespread TV coverage has also helped to put all gambling into the mainstream. While I am not going to start a debate about whether it is legal or not to gamble online in the U.S. I will however share my opinions of what will happen if online gambling is legitimized in the United States.
Part of the reason many people within the United States do not gamble online is a lack of trust. This is a lack of trust in getting dealt a legitimate game as well as worrying about whether they will get paid. If the United States gave up this stance and instead went the way of regulation then many of these players would then have more faith in the system. Many online poker rooms and casinos would move to the United States . Many large casino companies would almost certainly join in on the online casino and poker craze. Putting a large Las Vegas casino group's name on an online casino or poker room would bring endless new players in.
The number of new players at online poker rooms would skyrocket. These new players would bring in tens of millions of dollars into the online poker economy. Most of these players would lack the experience that existing players have. It would make the games online some of the best ever. The current online poker pros would bring in more money then they ever dreamed, and current break even or slightly losing players would suddenly be making huge profits at online poker. There would also be many new poker rooms offering first deposit bonuses, there would be new poker rooms to get rake back from, and there would also be a flood of reload bonuses from existing poker rooms trying to keep the players at their tables and not lose them to the new American competition. There would almost certainly be an online gaming commission formed as well to make sure players were getting dealt fair games and to insure payouts.
For players who prefer casino table games there would many benefits as well. Now a player could play at a well known American land casino at a name they are familiar with. This would establish a trust that many players currently do not have. Players might also be able to earn comps at their favorite land based casino ranging from free chips to luxury hotel rooms. Many Europeans already have this ability to play online with names they trust and known from being associated with land casinos. There are many land based casinos and sports books that operate online giving residents that extra trust they may need to know they are getting a fair game and will get paid.
If the United States regulated online gambling instead of trying to fight it there would a major tax benefit. The profits earned by online casinos and poker rooms run into the billions of dollars a year. The U.S. would be able to tax these entities based in the United States instead of losing all of the taxes to foreign countries. There would also be an easier way to tax players. The government could regulate how much players won or lost. Although there is no real way to tell it is my opinion that although many players do declare all of their online gambling winnings, most do not declare all of their winnings if they declare any at all. Some players feel that declaring "illegal" income would send up a red flag. Players would almost certainly have to declare these winnings.
It appears legalization and legitimacy for online gambling is on the horizon for the United States . With all the court cases and the WTO ruling it seems inevitable. At the very least stronger legislation trying to outright ban online gambling that has been introduced in the past will probably never pass. There are so many reasons for the government to stop this fight they almost certainly cannot win.