American Gaming Association Calls for New Regulations

In an industry conference in Las Vegas, Chief Executive Frank Fahrenkopf of the American Gaming Association said he would like Congress to table all the current proposals in front of them and pass an all new regulation that would allow states to decide whether to all online gambling.

There is an estimated $6 billion at stake and according to Fahrenkopf, “We’re perhaps closer to federal legislation than we’ve ever been.  There’s a buzz in Washington about the need for action.”

Part of the buzz is coming from the April indictments handed down against PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker. Fahrenkopf said the indictments showed that online poker companies have the capability of making billions of untaxed revenue if they remain unregulated.

“The fact is that, despite the (indictments), millions of Americans are still betting billions of dollars a year on foreign poker websites, sites outside the reach of US law enforcement, leaving US players vulnerable,” he said.

Proposals presented by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., and Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas are not what the industry needs according to Fahrenkopf but does admit Barton’s proposal is close but is also losing support from lawmakers.

The AGA has released a video comparing the online gambling market to the Wild West.  It also went as far as releasing a 6 point code of conduct that includes regular audits of poker software, tight technological controls to prevent kids from gambling and procedures to prevent money laundering.

Author: GamesAndCasino