With the introduction of the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) in the United States last September, the landscape of online gambling has seen some detrimental changes for both gaming operators and online American gamblers. The act, which was tactfully attached to the Safe Port Act almost guaranteed what is now a known certainty, it was passed and consequently lead to the drop out of hundreds of gaming sites from the American market.
The political motives and reasoning for this legislation have been heavily analyzed, criticized and exhausted and this is not what this article is meant to outline. Instead, we will take an in depth look at how regulating online poker and casinos in America is a completely feasible and logical step for the Government to take in preserving American freedoms and offering American citizens the choice to conduct a popular past time from the comforts of their own homes.
To set the record straight, the real issue that caused Governmental intervention in this industry was the lack of taxability on the billions of dollars passing through various payment processors, poker sites and casinos operating from offshore environments not subject to US tax laws. The ripple affect of this, was a large number of Americans sheltering their gambling revenues from the IRS, which we all know in their eyes is bad for business. The fallout of this legislation has been numerous arrests of gaming site executives and more recently the seizure of close to $55 Million dollars from the popular online gambling processor Neteller. It is important to note that these were not company revenues but rather funds in transit to individual gamblers in the United States. Case and point, we get it, you want to have your slice of the pie and here’s how you can.
Imagine an internet where you could virutally journey into the Fountain Room at the Bellagio to play some poker while drinking a coffee in Aspen. It is completely possible and is a certain way to avoid all the so-called pitfalls of playing with shady operators. The US government needs to wake up to the voice of American gamblers and realize that they are missing out on a huge market that in all rights, they should have capitalized on 10 years ago. By introducing a new online gambling environment restricted to US gaming operators with brick and mortar facilities, the Government could legalize, regulate and tax online gambling in several ways:
Taxes: Major casino operators in the United States pay their taxes, and make sure their winners do to. They make way to much money to screw around. Tax liability solved.
Money Laundering: Regulating online gaming to US based casinos would almost eliminate the need for 3rd party payment processors who have particpated in so-called “money laundering”. How? With the various options available at your local casino (cash, credit, bank wire) available to assist in your gambling experience, 3rd party processors would become obsolete
Cutomer Service: Customer service issues, non-payments and discrepancies would be dealt with much more affectively through reputable companies with dedicated service representatives.
While this is just a brief insight into a few of the major improvements US regulation could have on the online gaming industry, you get the idea. It is time to move on from the political perspective and take a look at the business perspective. Political agendas aside, US based online gambling is completely logical and possible, it is just a matter of stepping up and doing it.
I would imagine this portrayel should become a reality but it will definetely take some time. While the principles sound straight-forward on paper there are complex systems and policies that need to be implemented to ensure that this works right and does not result in another restriction of freedoms. I have no doubt that the major US casino operators have already invested money, resources and expertise into researching this field and developing an outline for implementation.
That being said I hope you enjoyed this article and I truly look forward to the day when I can cash-out from my computer, fly to Vegas, convert my frequent player points into a free weekend stay and get my cash-out from the casino cage. How nice it would be!
