A new survey which was carried out by Gambling Compliance has suggested that there are ten states in the US which may consider legalising and regulating access to real money poker or online casinos, encompassing other games such as slots and roulette online, in addition to the three states which have already put the legislation through. So far it is only Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware which have actually made the moves towards putting together online casinos based in the states themselves, but in the wake of their apparent success it seems that more states are thinking about following suit.
Of the three, two of them allow full online casinos to run, but in Nevada it is only online poker which is being licensed for now as they try to gauge whether the introduction of these sites will cannibalise the main land based casinos on which they rely for a large portion of the state’s economy. The three states have relatively low populations, and so the way things are at the moment, the online betting industry which is based in the US is quite small. The new survey, however, suggests that that might be about to change – and soon. Said Gambling Compliance’s director of research Chris Krafcik, “In 2013, 10 states considered legislation that would legalize online casino-style gambling, which was a historic high. This year is shaping up to be at least as busy.” Some of the states which are expected to seriously consider changing their legislation this year are thought to include Colorado, Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and California – with California in particular having already lobbied for online poker once before and having fallen short. It seems as though that might be the best bet for a change to come soonest of all.
More than half of the states in the list have already had the idea of online wagering introduced, with varying degrees of success and varying stages having been reached. It is thought by the Gambling Compliance study that Nevada may also seek to increase the range of their legislation by adding more casino games, as a result of the fact that the poker market has struggled with a low player volume – something that would not be an issue for single player games such as roulette. “It is an election year, which means that virtually all politically controversial subjects, including Internet gambling, will be seen through the risk-averse lens of re-election,” Gambling Compliance commented, also suggesting that there is little chance of any action at the federal level on this matter. Internet gambling is certainly a hot topic at the moment, but it is worth noting that if such a federal bill were to reach Congress, it is perhaps quite likely that it would find success. We still have a long way to go for many of the states in terms of reaching a real decision, as many of them wait around to see who will make the first move.