Should online casino gambling be legalized in the United States?
In 2006, Congress passed a bill that banned US banks from accepting funds intended for online gambling, effectively putting an end to online gambling for US residents.
However, Americans still spend billions of dollars in online poker, partly due to online casinos who have tricked US banks into accepting deposits.
PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker, three of the largest online casino gambling websites, are all facing charges of fraud and money-laundering as a result. The tactics have allowed the casino websites to take in billions of dollars that is untaxed.
Chief Executive Frank Fahrenkopf of the American Gaming Association supports a bill that would allow each state in the US to decide whether or not to allow casino gambling online, with a portion of monies spent to be returned to that state’s tax coffers.
The fact is that, despite the (indictments), millions of Americans are still betting billions of dollars a year on foreign poker websites, sites outside the reach of US law enforcement, leaving US players vulnerable," Fahrenkopf said.
Several bills have already been prepared by US lawmakers, but many of them deal on the federal level with strict regulations. Fakrenkopf believes the state measure would have a better chance. Casinos would much rather see patrons visiting their establishments, but with proper legislation, they would be agreeable to legalizing online gambling if they are allowed to properly license online.