US Gambling To Come State By State
While the US Congress sits in gridlock over issues such as health care and financial reform, other items, such as Barney Frank’s bill to regulate online gambling, sit waiting for their turn in the sun. The slow pace of US legislation has led experts to say Internet gaming may arrive in the US as a series of intrastate laws, rather than through national reform.
New Jersey state lawmakers have already begun considering a bill which would allow Atlantic City casinos to operate online gambling serving inside state borders. California has had similar items before its legislature, although the influence of tribal casinos has prevented passage thus far. Florida has also commissioned a study on the potential revenues that could be made by regulating online gambling. And other states, particularly Pennsylvania and Delaware, have shown they will consider any gambling expansion which may benefit the state. “If New Jersey is successful [with online gaming] you will see Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut, New York and some other states introduce some level of gaming,” says Joe Brennan, Jr., chairman of iMEGA. “It’s very likely that you will see New Jersey legalize it within a year.”
Foreign operators keen to bring their online gambling sites to the US want to see a national solution, but are preparing to work within whatever framework legislators present them. Several Internet casino companies are looking to either base US operations as business-to-business, or to set up software easily adaptable to varying laws and regulations.




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