Major Casinos Looking at Online Gambling

There has been a lot written lately about the online gambling regulation in the U.S. this year. Proponents of legalizing and regulating internet gambling have seen positive and negative so far from Barney Frank’s H.R. 2267  passing a markup vote to the NFL changing its stance to California denying an effort to legalize online poker to now the major land base casino’s changing their tune about legalizing online gambling.

According to Barry Meier who wrote in a New York Times article today, the executive of the American Gaming Association representing major casinos like Harrah’s Entertainment, MGM Resorts and Wynn Resorts said they are currently working on a proposal that will at least legalize some form of online gambling.

In late May of 2010, the American Gaming Association was reported to have spent $430,000 in the first quarter of that year lobbying federal officials about online gambling regulation. Then again in August 2010, it was reported they spent another $326,000 on the second quarter. No detail of its proposed legislation has been finalized and it is not sure if it will have any association to H.R. 2267.

It is speculated though that online poker will be the form of gambling that is being pushed by the major land based casinos. This form of gambling is considered by them the least likely to become a direct competition to profits.

According to Mr. Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr., chief executive of American Gaming Association, they have been looking into the issue of online gambling for two years now. He noted that the reversal in opinion came when an industry study concluded that online poker would not cut into casino profits as it had been feared it would.

Author: GamesAndCasino