STATESIDE
Stateside S
Sharon Harris reports back from the US…
ome explosive Internet gaming news has started 2012 off with what could be a huge boost for the future of American gaming as it is brought into the 21st century.
For years, powerful suburban Boston Democrat
Congressman Barney Frank has supported legalized Internet gaming. He has repeatedly proposed federal legislation that would overturn the US Wire Act of 1961. The outdated law bans betting on telecommunications across state lines or internationally. The Wire Act reflects a different time, when the idea of communications technology like cell phones and personal computers was something out of science fiction. Frank has long argued that the federal government
Frank once proclaimed, “This is allowing adult Americans to spend their own money as they wish on a form of recreation that they enjoy.
has no place in the online gaming discussion. He has called it insulting that adults of legal age are unable to determine their own responsible recreational activities. Frank once proclaimed, “This is allowing adult Americans to spend their own money as they wish on a form of recreation that they enjoy. I cannot understand why it’s the role of the federal government to prohibit them from doing so… The great mass of human activity is not the government’s business.” Though he has never prevailed, the Internet gaming movement has always viewed Frank as friendly to gaming. Frank’s recent announcement to retire after 32 years in Congress was met with surprise and industry concern. Frank’s critics claim he timed his “coincidental”
retirement to his realization that his district could be competitive for the first time in years; they believe he would be forced to campaign hard. Despite an often unfavorable public persona, Frank has always triumphed. As one of the House’s most powerful congressman,
Frank has had his share of controversy. His policies, personal life activities and openly hostile, impatient style towards opponents, even if they were his own constituents, have turned off plenty of people. To say Frank is quick with an insulting comment is an understatement. It is as if he enjoys the role of a grouch. For those of us with business backgrounds who have groveled to our share of customers, it is often hard to take. If Frank owned a business, his brusque approach would probably impact its success, but we all know government functions differently. No need to worry, as Frank may ultimately become
irrelevant to the cause. In late December 2011, the Obama Administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) eliminated some obstacles to states legalizing Internet poker and certain other online betting. This should potentially generate billions in tax revenues via online
10 FEBRUARY 2012
lotteries, and could set the stage for online gaming. The decision followed requests from both New York and Illinois to determine if they could legally sell lottery tickets across state lines via the Internet. The DOJ ruled that the Wire Act only applies to sports- related gambling. This is huge news for the potentially lucrative state-sanctioned online gaming industry. In the future, it could pave the path for agreements
between gaming states or permit international alliances. However, it is still too “dicey” to take chances without specifics. The American Gaming Association’s (AGA) official position has long lobbied for decisive federal language that “prevents fraud and money laundering, keeps minors from gambling, addresses problem gambling and ensures players aren’t being cheated”. The AGA perspective insists that the “only way to
protect US consumers and effectively prevent foreign companies from continuing to break US law is to legalize online poker in this country and establish strong federal guidelines that must be followed by those states that license and regulate online poker. Such action would preserve the right of states to allow or disallow online companies to offer online poker to their residents and, at the same time, ensure a consistent national regulatory and legal framework”. Little of it will dramatically improve the US economy any time soon. For this year, these programs will probably get little traction because of the November Presidential and Congressional elections. After all, no one in Congress has the time to
address “minor” issues like this one since all 435 representatives and one-third of the 100 senators will be in campaign mode. The presidential election will also distract since election analysts project almost $3 billion will be spent on that race. Expect another year to go by without anything substantial in place. However, just because Washington will drag its feet
doesn’t mean that the states should not prepare. The window of opportunity down the road may be small. In the mid-1990s, New Jersey missed the boat for
sports betting by not having all of their plans in place. The current crop of New Jersey politicians is trying to make up for lost time, evidenced by loads of voting and legislation that I will review next month. Poker remains the number one priority. States like
Nevada, New York and New Jersey are already gearing up for greater clarification. Leadership always matters, so I am happy that Governor Brian Sandoval of Nevada, Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York and New Jersey’s Governor Chris Christie are proving they clearly understand the importance of gaming in all its forms, both traditional and new.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66