AGA Considering Support of Online Poker, Internet Gambling Regulation

Much attention has been drawn to the recent comments by Frank Fahrenkopf, CEO of the American Gaming Association (AGA), on how the land-based casino industry group is thinking about supporting the legalization of online poker and Internet gambling in the USA, given a more friendly political environment, and the bottom line boost that legalization would bring them in these tough economic times, especially since less of their customers are willing to travel.

According to an insightful article this week by the Las Vegas Sun, to reach consensus across AGA members, in order to be an effective lobbyist for the legalization of online gaming, at least three major perspectives on the issue will need to be considered:

As before, AGA says they support a bill to study the implications of regulated US Internet gambling, though some advocates say that might be a waste of time.

The Sun article reports that the AGA has formed a work group to study bills relevant to regulation that have been introduced this year, such as bills sponsored by Congressman Barney Frank, and Assemblyman Lloyd Levine who introduced a bill to legalise Internet poker in California.

POKER TO BECOME LEGAL FIRST?

The Las Vegas Sun article reported that at last week's Global Gaming Expo, Internet gambling experts concluded that legalizing online poker, as either a fallback position or an ultimate goal, would be more palatable to politicians and the public than legalizing other forms of Internet gambling.

John Pappas, executive direction of the million-strong Poker Players Alliance, told the Sun that federal regulation makes more sense because it establishes a level playing field for operators while allowing individual states that oppose gambling to opt out.

A PricewaterhouseCoopers study conducted this year in support of federal regulation estimated that online gambling could generate at least $9 billion in fees and taxes for the federal government over the next decade. That amount of revenue might encourage the new US administration to regulate rather than strangle such a potentially lucrative industry.

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