US E-gaming Regulation: What Is to Come?

The pass of Representative Barney Frank’s bill in the House Financial Services Committee seems to have served as a catalyst for related initiatives as four states have already put the issue of legalising some form of online poker, casino gambling and sports betting on a state level on their agenda. Ever since the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of October 2006, a breakthrough of similar kind has been hoped for but hardly truly anticipated. Now more and more seem to be in favour of a legalised market, including “election-wary lawmakers.”

It goes without saying that behind this change and the widening adoption of the idea of a regulation is the fact that they begin to see the profit potential of the taxation of such ventures, which is estimated to be between $10 billion and $42 billion on a federal level, depending on the number of states opting into the federal regulation. There is nothing wrong with this, of course, especially considering the jobs it would create over time but there is another issue: what will become of offshore operators currently violating the US law? Will they be given a “pathway to citizenship?” How is an equilibrium between off-shore and US-based operators and between brick-and-mortar and online providers to be established?

These are the questions only time will answer. If you wish to read the full article, which provides far more insight than this summary, you can read it here.