Casinos have been in existence for a long time. They are said to have originated from Europe and then spread to all parts of the world. Today they have reached the World Wide Web as well. Many casinos owners now feel that online casinos are more profitable than the on-land ones.
The Off-Liners See The Point
Most of the big casinos in the United States opposed the idea of online casinos and considered them as a big threat to their business. Besides that, online gambling is still illegal in the US. However, recently, in October 2010, some of these high end casinos like MGM Resorts, Wynn Resorts and Harrah’s Entertainments have decided to come together and work on a proposal that would request the Congress to legalize online gambling. This was in lieu of a statement released by the American Gaming Association which stated that online casinos could also be properly regulated. The Association has also mentioned that the details of the Internet gambling regulatory rules are being worked out. Before all this, in July 2010, there was a congressional bill that was put forth by Democratic Representative Barney Frank, which aimed to legalize all Internet gambling. However, the bill at that time was not supported by the Gaming Association or the leading casinos. Due to this, the bill was not passed by the congressional committee.
With the air changing, there is definitely hope for the bill to pass. This would turn around the face of gambling all together. Some states, like California and Florida, have made online gambling legal within the state boundaries. But the passing of this bill in the congress would make it legal across all state boundaries. One of the major oppositions of Internet gambling comes from Nevada State which is the center for gambling in the United States. The senator of Nevada too is rethinking his stand and there is every likelihood that Nevada will be supporting online gambling.
There is speculation that if the bill is going to be passed it would be mainly legalizing online poker than the other games. A study by experts has shown that internet poker does not and will not cut the profits of off line casinos. Even if there is a cut it would be negligible. It is this study that has led to the changing of opinion in favor of Internet casinos. Another reason for the change in stand by many of the big guns in the casino industry is the fact that online gaming is a very profitable industry. Online companies like Pokerstar reel in as much as Dollar one billion in profits per year, a figure that cannot be ignored easily.
Mr. Fahrenkopf, CEO of American Gaming Association, states that the group has been studying Internet gambling for a period of two years and also studying the issues involved with it including taxation, consumer protection and security. According to him, the group will be making a presentation to the congress soon once the study is complete and all the loop holes would be closed. With that presentation and the already existing bill, there is no denying the fact that online gambling would be legalized under Federal laws.