Leading US casinos adopt ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’ attitude to online casinos
Friday 26th May 2006
Not all that long ago, the United States’ major casinos were in full support of the proposed banning of online casino gambling, but as the online market has continued to grow, they are now realising that they are missing out on a major opportunity.
Major casino companies like MGM Mirage, Harrah's Entertainment Inc. and others are now working to lobby Congress to legalising online gambling. Their belief is that the best way to control the online casino gambling industry, from a U.S. perspective, is to regulate and tax it. This would pave the way for major companies to set up shop online.
However this could also have a debilitating effect on the smaller offshore operations within the online gambling industry. People in the U.S. account for a strong part of the online gambling population, and are thought to be more likely to wager with a known major company in America than an offshore corporation. Figures project that around 15 million Americans have gambled online, but the true number, given annual gambling figures, is likely to be much higher.
Following the success of the legalization of online gambling in Europe, and the subsequent boom in Internet commerce, U.S. politicians may be passing a sideward glance across the Atlantic, and at the 85% of Americans in a Wall Street Journal Poll who opposed the online gambling ban.
The House is expected to pass the legislation, but it is thought to be very unlikely that the Senate will follow suit.
Not all that long ago, the United States’ major casinos were in full support of the proposed banning of online casino gambling, but as the online market has continued to grow, they are now realising that they are missing out on a major opportunity.