Legislation and online betting

[segismundo]

Even though we are supposed to be within a single market where all EU consumers should have the right to choose their services provider, the truth is different in several economic sectors, the gambling one, amongst them.

Now it is Poland making noise about banning online gambling outright, before it was Sweden staunchly defending its national monopoly... And the list could go on...

Taking into account that national governments are mostly interested in their national interests and inflate the state budget, rather than in consumers choices, consumers are gathering and developing initiatives such as Right2bet aimed at guaranteeing the right of consumers to decide which betting operator they want regardless of the country where they are based on.

If you also believe in a truly open single European market, go to the right2bet.net website and sign the petition that will be presented to the European authorities.

[risley]

In some US states, online gambling an sports betting are now legal and some countries in Asia are now skyrocketing their economy because of online gambling. However, US is still pushing the bill to legalize it hope next year it will be pass.

[faye valentine]

The debates against online gambling legalization in US is still going on, Rep. Barney Frank wants to legalize it by adding a tax a dn the gambling revenues that will help for the US economy. Also with Rep. Barney Frank, Rep. Jim McDermott set out to raise up to $72 billion over 10 years by taxing online operators and gambling winnings. It’s an ambitious figure, some lawmakers say, as it assumes that all states will choose to participate, rather than opting out and banning local play.

[AlyanaSkyes]

No one can help it. Every government in every country will think and try everything on how to increase the governments finances. We the consumers/customers will always comes last. he he!

[faye valentine]

True, the only great for the government is the gambling revenues which cost to billion dollars annually and also the taxes (if gambling could be passed and be implied on a tax it). However, there are some consideration for the government to restrict it for they say people get addicted to gambling. But what the heck are their reasons, its up to the people to control their emotions and gambling risk whenever they gamble.

[ak2009]

USA Legislation governor body still stuck in "UIGEA" why? their are few other side of forceful laws, like national revenue source, taxes and people interest.

[faye valentine]

The U.S. Congress passed H.R. 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act of 2009 Wednesday.

Advocates of the bill note that legalized online gambling will bring in as much as $42 billion in tax revenues over the next 10 years, WSJ.com noted. But the potential income is much more than that when you factor the money Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft would get from pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, the income from affiliate marketing, and other income people will make online.

Apart from the income the search industry will gain, the impact should be interesting in other ways. Like the adult space, online gambling initiated many innovations now used in the e-commerce space and online gaming. This should continue with the increased revenues.

The impact will also be seen in the addition of spam elements cluttering the web. While this is already a factor, once gambling marketing is legal, the gates will open. Forum and blog comment spam will no doubt see a huge increase and endless new content will hit the web, taxing the search engine crawlers.

The gambling industry was also influential in the analytics space in the early days of the web and has started working in the behavioral targeting space in Europe, where it has been legal for many years. No doubt with the larger potential audience in the U.S. this will get more investment.

--Frank Watson of Search Engine Watch

The picture is complicated by several states, such as Louisiana, that have specific legislation for online gambling while the federal government seeks to understand and create policy that deals with issues like underage gambling, money laundering, problem gamblers and…of course taxes.

Better read this: U.S. Ban on Online Gambling On the Way Out? | Politics and Economics Right Side News

[arkinmcnicholson]

As far as i know, a lot of online casino sites stopped accepting bets from the US players when President Bush signed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act into law. Although the measure does nothing to change the players' right to bet online, it will eventually force American banks and credit card companies to block some types of electronic transactions to online casino businesses. As a result, the online gaming industry is changing by the day.

[Adam McGoldrick]

In some US states, online gambling an sports betting are now legal and some countries in Asia are now skyrocketing their economy because of online gambling. However, US is still pushing the bill to legalize it hope next year it will be pass.

I guess you were planning on 2011... Well, it isn't over yet but I doubt all the disputes will be settled whitin the next 5 months. If you want an update on the current status of the legislation process.
The US situation is relevant also for us non-US citizens, primarilly becuase the addition of a mass market like the US will increase player-volume considerably at all online wagering rooms, and don't forget about the Tiltpoker situation. They were my favorites!